
Class, 



- 



Book 



PRESENTED BY 



©Jje SHntocrfiitp of Chicago 



The Political Philosophy of Modern Shinto 
A Study of the State Religion of Japan 



A DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE DIVINITY SCHOOL IN 
CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 

(DEPARTMENT OF CHURCH HISTORY) 



BY 
DANIEL CLARENCE HOLTOM 



A Private Edition 

Distributed by 

The University of Chicago Libraries 

1922 

(From the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan) 



( 

Clje Stotoeraitp of Clricasa 




The Political Philosophy of Modern Shinto 
A Study of the State Religion of Japan 



A DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE DIVINITY SCHCOL IN 
CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 

(DEPARTMENT OF CHURCH HISTORY) 



I 



BY 
DANIEL CLARENCE HOLTOM 



A Private Edition 

Distributed by 

The University or Chicago Libraries 

1922 

(From the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan) 






FROM THE 
TRANSACTIONS OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF JAPAN 
TOKYO, JAPAN 

Sift 
University 

*wr n mi 



preface: 

The discussion in the following pages is not offered as a 
treatment of modern Shinto in all its various aspects. The 
problems discussed are particularly those which arise out of the 
relationship existing between the Shinto shrines and the modern 
Japanese state. It has been thought advisable, however, to 
include in the first part of Chapter I a brief outline of Shinto 
development prior to the modern period. For the earlier 
periods the references given in the notes should be consulted. 
The expediency of separating the third phase of Shinto (that of 
the Revival of Pure Shint5) from the medieval period may 
perhaps be questioned, especially in view of the fact that the 
actual political influence of Shinto under the Tokugawa Sho- 
gunate was comparatively slight ; yet it needs to be remembered 
that the third phase of Shinto marks a movement sufficiently 
distinct to have merited the special consideration of no less a 
scholar than Sir Ernest Satow. 

It is also recognized that the term " philosophy" in the 
main title of the discussion is used in a general sense. The 
usage implies an official theory and practice regarding Shinto, 
connected and adjusted by design. 

The statement regarding Omoio Kyo which appears on page 
126 was written prior to the abolition of this sect by the govern- 
ment. The situation which necessitated such action on the pare 
of the authorities, however, does not affect the appropriateness 
of the citation which is made from Omoto Kyo publications. 
Indeed, it has been suggested that the chauvinistic Mikadoism 
of Omoto Kyo was put on as protective coloring, and, if so, the 
necessity still remains of interpreting a political situation which 
makes such tactics possible. 



II PREFACE 

In the course of the argument it has been found necessary 
to introduce comparative material from non-Japanese fields. 
This is especially true of those sections which deal with the 
study of the mythology of the official cult. Attention is called 
to the fact that the reason for the introduction of such com- 
parative material does not lie in a desire to validate the operation 
of the principle of acculturation. The purposes of the argument 
are sufficiently satisfied if the operation of the principle of 
parallelism can be established. 

References to sources and authorities are given in full in 
the notes. 

D. C. Holtom. 

Tokyo, April, 1922. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Chapter 
I 

II 

III 

IV 

V 
VI 

VII 
VIII 



Historical Introduction 

The Shrine Problem 

Japanese Interpretations of Shintd : 
Ethical Definition 

Japanese Interpretations of Shinto : 
Religious Definition 

The Meaning of Kami . 

The Mythology of the Official 
The Original Parents ... 

The Cult of the Sun-Goddess... .. 

Government and National Shrines, 
elusions 



Bibliography — Works of Referenc 
European Languages 

Bibliography — Works of Reference 
Japanese Language 



e in 



Appendix A. 
Appendix B. 
Appendix C. Tables of Statistics for Shrines and Priests 324 



The 



The 



Cult 



Con- 



in the 



Page 

I 

49 



69 

99 
129 

181 

224 

268 



309 



317 



ABBREVIATIONS 

H Z. Horei Zensho, Complete Collection of Laws and 
Ordinances, Japanese Government. 
N. Nihonshoki {Kokushi Taikei Rokkokishi), Tokyo, 

1915. 
A. Aston, W. G., Nihongi, 2 Vols., Supplement I of 
Transactions and Proceedings of the Japan 
Society, London, 1896. 
C. Chamberlain, B. H., Kojiki, Transactions of the 
Asiatic Society of Japan, Vol. X, Supplement, 
1882. 
F. Florenz, Karl, Japanisclie Mythologle, Nihongi, 
Zeit alter der Goiter, Tokyo, 1 901. 
T.A.SJ. Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan. 
TJ.S.L. Transactions and Proceedings of the Japan Society, 
London. 
H.E.R.E. Hastings Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics. 



NOTE 

Where two names of a Japanese person are given, the 
name in italics indicates the family name. The general rule 
followed has been to print family names first, as in ordinary 
Japanese usage. (D. C. H.) 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN 
SHINTO. 

CHAPTER I. 
Historical Introduction. 

One of the most noteworthy politico-religious situations of 
history is to be found in the expansion of modern Shinto. In 
this development the Japanese government has attempted to 
stabilize important political institutions and at the same time 
secure a form of religious adjustment by isolating Shinto from 
recognized religious bodies such as Buddhism and Christianity. 
Hereby government sanction has been given to the interpreta- 
tion that official Shinto is not a religion. 

The Meiji and Taisho eras have witnessed the enactment of 
a series of laws and departmental regulations which may be 
legitimately interpreted as an effort on the part of the Japanese 
government to find a workable religious policy which, while 
preserving under direct state control those Shinto institutions 
which are regarded as contributory to the unification and 
discipline of popular sentiments of loyalty and patriotism, would 
yet make possible a fairly satisfactory disposition of the affairs 
of religious organ'zations outside of the official cult, and at the 
same time meet the pressure of inevitable modernizing ten- 
dencies in the various departments of Japanese life induced by 
contacts with occidental culture. The Japanese state has had 
to deal not simply with problems of readjustment arising out of 
the urgency of assimilating absolutely indispensable elements 
of western civilization but also, in the meantime, has found it 
necessary to strengthen itself against the dangers of free-thought, 
socialism and even anarchism. The interplay of the forces 
found in modernism, in the activity of non-Shinto religious 
bodies, and in the alleged necessity of unifying the Japanese 



2 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 

social mind by concentrating it on characteristic Japanese 
institutions has produced the modern Shinto situation. This 
has raised difficult problems for the Japanese state. 

The effort to solve these problems has culminated in the 
complete separation of the control of the Shinto shrines from 
the oversight of ordinary religious matters. Under the direc- 
tion of this policy Shinto ceremonies have taken on the character 
of important affairs of state systematized under national law, in 
the ritual of which even civil officials may participate. Shinto 
priests have been given court rank and treated as government 
officials with appointment and superintendence regulated by the 
State ; the support of Shinto institutions has been made an 
affair of State concern and has been secured wholly or in part 
out of government revenues ; great shrines have been construct- 
ed at government expense ; and the shrines themselves have 
been interpreted and utilized as non-religious agencies for the 
strengthening of national morality. 

How does it come about that such a position has been 
adopted by the Japanese government, and what is its justification 
in actual historical fact ? The attempt to answer these questions 
constitutes the subject-matter of the following discussion. 

A question immediately arises as to whztf constitutes the 
essential nature of Shinto. 1 As far as the term itself is concern- 
ed, there is no documentary evidence in Japanese records to 
show definitely that it was in use in Japan prior to the introduc- 
tion of Buddhism in 552 A.D. 2 The evidence, as far as it goes, 
indicates that the word came into general use as a result of the 
heightening of national consciousness during the early period of 
the struggle between Buddhism, as a foreign faith, and the 



*< MM* Shinto, ot Shindo, Kami no Mich', "The Way of the Gods." 
For a valuable discussion of the origin and meaning of the term Shinto, consult 
Kume, Kunitake, Nikon Kodai Shi to Shinto to no Kankei (X^?K^» B ?fc"£f^ 
$£ ^/iftii^^lSfcrU "The Relations of Shinto and Ancient Japanese History," 
Tokyo, 1907), pp. I -1 8. - 

2. A., Vol. 11, pp. 55, 65. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 3 

native religion of old Japan. 1 The term was probably borrowed 
from Chinese usage. In its early periods the indigenous cult ot 
Japan appears to have been nameless. 2 

Shinto has been defined as a generic name for ideas and 
institutions existing in Japan prior to the introduction of Bud- 
dhism and Confucianism, 3 and again as an expression of the 
primitive instincts of the Japanese race. 4 The modern nation- 
alistic exposition tries to find the basis in ancestor worship, 5 an 
interpretation which Lowell re-expresses as the patriarchal 
principle projected remotely into the past 6 ; Kato defines it as a 
system of patriotism and loyalty, centering in Mikadoism, and 
expressing the nationalistic religious enthusiasm of the Japan- 
ese people. 7 Inouye finds in it the fullest expression of the 
religious spirit of the Japanese race. 8 Aston and Kume agree 
in describing Shinto as kamz-cult, a term in which kami indi- 

1. A., op. cit. Also id. p. 106. 

2. A favorite explanation follows Motoori in assigning the name Kamu 
nagara to the earliest known Japanese religion. This nagara however, is 
probably to be taken in the ordinary sense of nagara in the Japanese language, 
i. e. " the same as," "just as." Kamu nagara would thus have simply the mean- 
ing of kami no mama nite, " Kami as such." Cf. Genkai ( fif"^), p- 224. 

3. Nishikawa, Kojiro, Shindo Kydso Den ^)\\%tyM^ W&J&MM * " An 
Account of the Founders of Shinto," Tokyo, 19 14), p. 1. 

4. Nitobe, Inazo, The Japanese Nation, p. 1 21. 

5. Cf. Kcno, Shozo, Kokumin Dotoku Shhon (ftfjgf #H, JU&iI£|.&.!i^ 
" A History of National Morality," Tokyo, 1920), pp. 226-228. Dr. Y. Haga has 
declared that original Shinto was "essentially an ancestor worship." T.J. S. L., 
Vol. XV (1916-1917), p. 122. 

6. Lowell, P., Occult Japan, p. 21. 

7. Kato, Genchi, Waga Kokutai to Shinto {IvM^M > 3£#*MI ^ WM.. 
" Our National Organization and Shinto," Tokyo, 1919', p. 222. Cf. also Griffis, 
W. E , " The Religions of Japan, pp. 45-48, 74-82, 88 ; Knox, G. W. The 
Development cf Religion in Japan, p. 78. 

8. Inouye, Tetsujiro, Kokumin Dotoku Gait on (-^ii^^IP, BiSil.^1 
$iiw» " Outlines of National Morality," Tokyo, 1912), pp. 98 99; Mciji Seiloku 
Kinen Gakkai Kiyo (^M$tfE;&P#*E!^ Ig-tr#» "Transactions of the 
Japan Society in Commemoration of H. M. The Emperor Meiji", Vol. Vlf, 
April, 19 1 7), pp. 225-229. 



4 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 

cates primarily the deities of the ancient Japanese pantheon. 1 
Nitobe further characterizes it as hylozoism or pan-psychism, a 
point of view wherein kamiis taken to signify the "psyche" 
which exhibits itself in all the forms and forces of nature. 2 
Harada declares that the earliest form of Shinto was nature 
worship, to which was subsequently added the worship of 
deified men and that by virtue of this latter addition arose an 
inseparable connection with the national life and an intimate 
association with loyalty and patriotism. 3 Florenz is likewise of 
the opinion that Shinto in the oldest form, as made known to us 
in the extant records, was a combinat'on of polytheistic nature 
worship and ancestor cult. 4 He further conjectures that this 
was the old religion brought in to the Japanese archipelago by 
the early ancestors of the race, probably from an original home 
on the Asiatic mainland. 

The different points of view represented in the above state- 
ments of the essential nature of Shinto will reappear later in the 
discussion. It is not necessary to atttempt their harmonization 
here. Nor is it deemed advisable to attempt to set out with an 
a priori definition of the nature of Shinto. A brief character- 
ization of official Shint5 must suffice at the present point. This 
may be described as a ceremonial which centers in the native 



i. Ktane, Kunitake, '• Shinto," Fifty Yeats of A T ew Japan, Vol. IT, p. 22; 
Aslon, W. G., Shinto, the Way of the Gods, p. 44, also preface, p. 10. Aston 
says, " Shint5, the old native religion of Japan had no cult of true ancestors." 
Man, 1906, No. 23. 

2. Nitobe, op. cit., p. 123. 

3. Harada, Tasuku, 7he Faith of Japan, pp. 2,4. Cf. also Asakawa, The 
Early Institutional Life of Japan, pp. 31-44. 

4. Florenz, Karl, " Der Shintoismus,"' Die Orientalischen Religionen, p. 194, 
(F>ie Kultur der Gegemvait, Teil I, Abteilung III, I). See also Revon, M-, " Le 
Shinntoisme," Revue de H Histohe des Religicns, XLIX, pp. 12-16; Revon, 
"Ancestor Worship Japanese)," H. E. R. E., I, p. 456; Chamberlain, Things 
Japanese (1898 , p 358 ; Brinkley and Kikuchi, A History of the Japanese People, 
New York and London, 19 15), p. 64. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 5 

Japanese shrines (miycif and which is alleged to have its 
classical expression in the oldest Japanese literature, especial'y 
in the Kojiki, the Nihongiand. the ancient Norito. Funda- 
mental to this position is an ancestral theory of the ancient 
Japanese deities. The justification of these statements will be 
found in the ensuing discussion. 

Japanese investigators ordinarily divide historical Shinto 
into two main streams of development. The orthodox analysis 
gives tennen suhai? " nature worship," on the one side and 
sosen suliai? ''ancestor worship," on the other. The basis of 
this differentiation is a conception of the nature of deity in 
Shinto as being two-fold. In other words, the idea of God is 
here looked upon as being the result of the assimilative com- 
bination of two psychological elements of diverse origin, 
namely, an element arising out of experience with natural 
events or objects and leading to the notions of demons and 
spirits % of nature and, again, an element coming from experiences 
in human society, as such, and leading to the worship of 
heroes and ancestral spirits. There is a marked tendency on 
the part of the modern directors of thought in Japan in re- 
ligious, educational and political spheres alike, to emphasize 
the latter element as the more characteristic Japanese expres- 
sion. 

Thus, a system of thought and practice that is thoroughly 
affected by feelings of reverence and loyalty toward important 
personages in the tribe or state is supposed to have marked the 
religion of the ancient Japanese prior to all contact with either 

I. ^§f , a technical term for a Shinto shrine, from mi, honorific and ya, 
" house." Anciently the term was applied to the residence of a member of the 
royal family. The modern Japanese government uses as a designation for 
Shinto shrines the term, jinja (jhisha), jjj$jf± (kaini no yashiro, "Shrine of the 
Kami"). Buddhist edifices are distinguished as tera (^\ while those of 
Christianity and the non-official Shinto sects are called kyokai {%$£)> 
" churches." 

2. xmmn 
3- wL&sm 



6 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 

Confucian or Buddhist influences. True Shinto deities, it is 
declared, are ancestral, and although superstitious rites and 
practices are admitted to exist in popular Shinto, due partly to 
survivals out of Japanese primitivity, and partly to the effects 
of syncretism with foreign cults, yet the fundamental and 
characteristic emphasis has always been ancestral and nation- 
alistic. This is the center of the modern Shinto cult. Shinto 
thus becomes a most important support for Japanese national 
morality in the present and as such vitally related to modern 
Japanese political philosophy, so much so, that the latter can 
hardly be understood apart from its interconnection with the 
Shinto cult. As a means of orientating further discussion the 
introduction of an outline statement of the historical development 
seems advisable. 

Four main periods or phases of Shinto history are to be 
distinguished. It is impossible within the limits of the present 
discussion to do more than to briefly characterize the first 
three ; the fourth will be dealt with at greater length. The 
first period is bounded on the farther side by an indefinite 
mythological area in which the fixing of dates is a precarious 
undertaking — in spite of the apparent exactitude with which the 
early chronology is established by Japanese state authority — 
and on the nearer side by the closing years of the sixth century 
A.D. This is the period of Old Shinto. Although the source 
material bearing on this period was not given existing literary 
form until after the process of assimilation with Buddhism and 
Chinese philosophy had already set in, yet the mythology and 
ritual of the ancient Japanese religion stand out with such 
unmistakable clearness, that the main outlines of Old Shinto 
can be reconstructed with a considerable degree of exactitude. 
The structural basis of the mythology is closely similar to 
what is found almost universally at appropriate stages of 
culture. The great deities are aspects of nature interpreted in 
terms of human social experience. The rituals (norito) are 
motivated primarily by the desires to safe- guard the food 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO J 

supply, to ensure the success and permanence of the 
governmental regime, and to secure release from ceremonial 
impurity. 1 

The second period of Shinto extends for some eleven 
hundred years between the time of the rise of Buddhism and 
the date of the passing of the Buddhist and Chinese eclipse of 
Shint5, which may conveniently be fixed at 1737 A.D., the 
year in which Kamo Mabuchi first began to make public in 
Yedo the result of his researches into ancient Japanese liter- 
ature. 2 In this second phase of its history Shinto is widely 
overshadowed and to a large extent absorbed by its great rival. 
Yet this Buddhist ascendency was gained not without conflict 
and not without the aid of priestcraft. The appearance of 
Buddhism in Japan in the middle of the sixth century created 
issues that brought into being two rival parties in the state, a 
pro-Buddhist party centering in the Soga family and a pro- 
Shinto party centering in the house of Mononobe. Under the 
protection of royal influence the former faction steadily gained 
in power and before the close of the century Buddhism had 
deeply penetrated the government itself. Emperors and high 
government officials now became Buddhist ; the sutras were 
expounded under government direction ; Buddhist services 

1. Consult A., F., and C. for source material. For translations of Noiifc 
contained in the Engi Shiki see Satow, " Ancient Japanese Rituals," T. A. S. J., 
Vols. VII, IX, (1879-1 881) and Florenz, id. Vol. XXVII, 1899. Cf. also 
F\orenz,Geschichte der Japanischen Litteratuv (Leipzig, 1906), pp. 36-46. For 
source material and discussions in Japanese consult Kokushi Taikei (^^.^^^ 
" Great System of National History "), Vol. I, Nihongi ; Vol. II, Shoku- Nihongi ; 
Vol. VII, pp. 1-170, Kojiki ; Vol. XIII, pp. 85-1190, Engi-Shiki ; also Tsuda, 
Noritake, Shinto Kigen Ron (JTOfJc^ IfSij&J&tt* "An Essay on the Origin 
of Shinto "), Tokyo, 1920 ; Kakehi, Katsuhiko, Koshindo Taigi (%]&M^ 'fciffi 
SM.XW.* " The Essentials of Old Shinto "), Tokyo, 1912; Saeki, Ariyoshi, Dai 
Nikon Shingi Shi (•fef&lfH^ ^C0 &jf$ifi£&» " An Account of the Deities of 
Great Japan," Tokyo, 19I3), pp. 1-304; Tanaka, Yoshito, Shinto Hongi (Efltf 
Hfb-. fl^ilt'fcii* "The Essentials of Shinto," Tokyo 1911), pp. 1-48. 

2. Cf. Tanaka, Tatsu, Shindo Kwanken (034*^ /T^iMWil- " A Birds 
eye View of ShintS," Tokyo, 1915), pp. 53-55. 



8 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 

were conducted in the palace ; Buddhist affairs were regulated 
by imperial decree and, finally, Buddhism was propagated by 
imperial order and Buddhist festivals became affairs of state. 
By the opening years of the ninth century the doctrinal 
assimilation of Buddhism and Shinto had been accomplished, 
so that now Buddhist rites were conducted at Shinto shrines 
while the priests prayed to Shinto gods under Buddhist names. 1 
The underlying principle of this alliance of Shinto and 
Buddhism is best seen in the so-called Rydbn-Shintd, " Two- 
sided Shinto," developed to a very large extent under the 
influence of the great Buddhist priest, Kobo Daishi (d. 835 
A. D.). This syncretism is not to be understood as entirely 
the result of a popular evolution expressing a genuine amalga- 
mation, but also as a clever piece of statesmanship on the part 
of Buddhist propagandists, resulting in the production of a 
theology that explained the deities of the native pantheon as 
the transmigration of the gods of Mahayana Buddhism. The 
Sun Goddess, Amaterasu-U mi-Kami, the central deity of the 
Japanese system, was equated with the great Buddha, Vaivo- 
cJiana, the center of the " world of thoughts " and the " world 



1. For the ancient record of this remarkable rise of Buddhism see A , II, 
pp. 66-67, 77> 9°> IOI -5> Iir > XI 5> Il8 > I22 > I2 3> I2 9> *34, i49-5°» l S 2 A, '74-5> 
196, 236-7, 240, 254, 263, 297-8, 337, 344, 346, 357> 3 6 9> 379» 3 8 4> 39 8 -9> 4©8, 
416, 421. A census of 623 A. D. reports 46 temples, 816 priests and 569 nuns. 
(A., Vol. II, p. 154). The chronicle for the last day of the last month of 651 
A. D. says that on this day 2100 priests and nuns were invited (o the palace and 
made to read the Buddhist scriptures, (A., Vol. II, 240). By the year 690 A. D. 
the number of priests in seven of the largest temples totaled 3363. (A., Vol. II, 

P- 399)- 

For discussions of this period, in ihe Japanese language written from the 
point of view of Shinto history, consult Miura and Kiyohara, Shindo Enkakttshi 
Ron (5l^^f> mU^M. i»^«f& "History of ShintS Development," 
Tokyo, 1919), pp. 47-392; Miyoji, Naoichi, Shingishi Koyo gifijfL — » ffrfigMl 
3£ "Outline History of Shinto," Tokyo, 1919', pp. 37-182; Saeki, op. cit. pp 
755 ff; Maruyama, Masahiko, Dai Nikon wa Shinkokti nari (%\1\ IE/t>x 3\ B # 
%W$MtiL% "Japan the Land of the Gods," Tokyo, 191 1), pp. 109- 2; 3; Inouye, 
Tetsujiro, op. cit., pp. 1 1 1-148. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO Q 

of tilings " and thus a theological basis was established upon 
which all the other deities of both religions could be identified 
as emanations of this central life. 1 

Yet in spite of this triumph ot Buddhism, the native 
religion still survived at the great shrines of Ise and Idzumo 
and in many of the beliefs and practices of the common people. 
Again, the seeds of the old plant lay hidden away undisturbed 
in the literature of ancient Shinto ready to germinate in proper 
season into a life that was to quicken the whole nation. This 
season of the quickening of the old came in the next period of 
Shinto development. 

The third phase of Shinto history falls in the period lying 
between the opening years of the eighteenth century and the 
Restoration of 1868. 2 This is the period of the Japanese 
Renaissance. In it two outstanding characteristics are mani- 
fested. In the first place one may note in the movements of 
the t'mes the beginning of the development of modern national 
consciousness, induced by the break-down of clan autonomy 
that was effected through the rise to power of the central 
Tokugawa regime. The second main characteristic of the 
period is traceable directly to the same cause as the former, 
that is, to the long era of internal peace resultant upon the 
political stability of the Tokugawa Shogunate. A great liter- 
ary revival, to which the Japanese attach the name Kogakn 
Fukkd, " The Revival of Ancient Learning," now found a 
shelter in which to grow and bear fruit. Under the patronage 
of Daimyo, who had been forced into pursuits of peace, a 
genuine antiquarian interest manifested itself; an earnest search 
after old manuscripts began ; libraries were founded, and a 

1. Consult Tanimoto, Tomeri, Kobo Daishi (Kobe 1907); Lloyd, Arthur, 
The Creed of Half Japan (London, 191 1), pp. 233-258; Reischauer, A. K, 
Studies in Japanese Biudhism (New York, 191 7), pp. 94 ft. 

2. Consult Satow, E., « The Revival of Pure Shintau," T. A. S. J., Vol. III» 
Pt. I (1874, revised 1882 , Appendix, pp. 1-8/ ; Brinkley, A History of the Japan- 
ese People, -pp. 644-650 ; Miura and Kiyohara, op. cit., pp 3 2421; Florenz, 
" Der Shintoismus der Japaner," Kultur der Gegenwart, op. cit. t pp. 215 ft. 



IO THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINT5 

serious study of ancient history bad its birth. Under the direc- 
tion of Mitsukuni, Prince of Mito, (1622-1700), the archives of 
Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines were searched, private 
collections were bought up, and a great library of old manu- 
scripts was collected in the city of Mito. A group of Japan- 
ese and Chinese scholars immediately set to work on the 
analysis and correlation of this material with the result that 
before the death of Mitsukuni, the valuable Dai Nihonshi, 
(" Great History of Japan ") in two hundred and forty books 
was compiled and published, a work that has exercised a form- 
ative influence over Japanese historical study from the time of 
its appearance right up to the present. 

The above mentioned characteristics of the period found 
their fullest expression in the revival of pure Shintd. Indeed, 
this movement to be properly understood must be studied as a 
nationalistic-imperialistic revival which found its main support 
in an appeal to the documents of ancient Shinto. The move- 
ment found its pioneer in Kada Azumamaro (1669- 1736), and 
was carried through to its conclusion by the three great 
scholars Kamo Mabuchi (1697-1769', Motoori Norinaga (1730- 
1801), and Hirata Atsutane (1776- 1843). The source material 
for the study of Shinto in this period is to be found mainly in 
the writings of these four men. 1 In this literature an attempt* 
is made to get below the foreign accumulations due primarily 
to Indian and Chinese influences and tap the pure spring of 
Japanese thought and institutions lying in the literature of the 
earliest period of Shinto. It is an attempt to dissolve the syn- 
cretism of the medieval period. The contents of the old litera- 
ture are so interpreted as to furnish the means of a nationalistic 
propaganda and, more particularly, as an instrument of attack 
on the Tokugawa usurption. The growing consciousness here 
relies on an exegesis of history in order to develop the two-fold 
thesis of 2, jure divi.no sovereignty in an imperial line unbroken 



I. CJ. Satow, op. cit* 



THE POLITICAL FHILISOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO II 

from divine ages and a divine Japanese race which, by virtue of 
the intimacy of its genealogical connection with the gods, was 
braver, more intelligent and more virtuous than all the other 
races of the earth. The hold which this nationalistic interpreta- 
tion of Shinto has gained on modern Japanese political theory 
will be developed in a subsequent discussion. 

The modern period begins with the Restoration. The 
phase of development here open for survey, presents two dis- 
tinct aspects, first, a popular expression in the form of a large 
number of Shinto sects which are admitted by all to be genuine 
religious organizations and, in the second place, an official cult, 
the religious nature of which is under debate. The former is 
frequently designated Shuha Shinto 1 (" Sect Shinto") as a 
means of distinguishing it from the latter. Our interest lies 
primarily in the direction of investigating the claims of official 
Shinto. 

The history of modern Japan opens with Shinto established 
as a state religion. One of the first acts of the new government 
in the Restoration of 1 868 was to abolish the ancient Jisha 
Btigyo' (" Board of Commissioners for Temples and Shrines ") 
which had supervised government relations with religious bodies 
since the days of Tokugawa Iemitsu (162 3-1 650). Buddhism 
was denied state recognition and a large part of the ecclesiasti- 
cal properties was appropriated by the government. 3 On the 

1. mmmm. 

3. The laws on which where based the efforts to extricate Shinto from its 
entanglement with Buddhism are as follows : 

" (1) Since the Middle Ages there have existed numerous shrines in which 
arc Buddhist incarnations along with Buddhist guardian deities such as Gozu Tenno 
('f'Bfi^HE)* shrines in which, also, Shinto deities are called by Buddhist names. 
All such shrines must immediately send in detailed statements of their histories. 

" (2) Shrines which are utilizing Buddhist statues as shivtai must correct 
the usage and make report." Order of Council of State (Dajokan), April, 20, 

1868, c/. t&i±#*, miwrntmrnmrn. i#; Tokyo, i 9 i 2 , P . i. 

An order sent out to all the superintendent priests of Buddhism in Decem- 
ber, 1872, attempted rectification of theological errors. The order reads: 



12 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 

other hand the administration of Shinto was given a unique 
status in the form of an Office for Shinto Religion {fingi 
Kwari)} ranking at the head of all the other departments of 
the government. 2 Early in its career the administrative offices 
of the entire Japanese government were reorganized into eight 
bureaus (Kyoku) so as to make room for a Presidential Board, 
and as a result the Jingi Kwan disappeared. In the reorgani- 
zation, however, a Jingi Sko* (Department of Shinto) was still 
included on a parity of rank with all other departments of 
state. 4 Authority in the affairs of the state religion was vested 
in a minister for Shinto {Chikivanji) y appointed from the high 
nobility and " possessed of supreme control in matters relating 
to the worship of the Gods and over the different orders of the 
priesthood." 5 

On August 6, 1 870, a department known as the Mimbushtf 
(." Department for the People ") was established and placed in 
charge of shrines and temples, public works, communications, 
mines, litigations, etc. 7 A Shajigakari 9, (" Office for Shrines 
and Temples ") was included within the Mimbuslio* and given 

" Buddhist priests have hitherto insisted that the kami jjj$) are the avatars of 
the Buddha {Jictoke, fjf})* and that the Buddha is the noumenon [horitai, ;fcf|) of 
the kami. Although they teach that the kami are to be reverenced, their way of 
teaching is estranging. Their method of instructing in reverence is not only 
insincere, but it also greatly dishonors the shintai. This is wrong. Examine 
yourselves, repent, and properly lead the people." H. Z., 1 872, p. 1296. 

2. Act of Feb. 10, 1868. H. Z., 1867-68, II, 15-16; T. A. S. J., Vol. XLII, 
Pt. I, p 4. 

4. The actual change did not take place until Sept. 22, 187 1. The law 
under this dnie says, " It is hereby announced thot the Jingiku>an is changed into 
the Jingishb." H. Z., 187 1, Council of Stale (JDajokan) Section, p. 316, Order 
No. 398. 

5. T. A. S. J., op. cit., p. 12. 

7. II. Z., 1870, pp. 261, 298-9. 
9. II. Z., 1S70, p. 268. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OP MODERN SHINTO 1 3 

control over religious affairs that " lay outside of the adminis- 
tration of the Jingisho." 1 This business related primarily to 
the financial and statistical affairs of religious institutions. On 
September n, 1871, the Mimbusho was abolished and the Office 
of Shrines and Temples was transferred along with other affairs 
to the Department of Finance. 2 The Office for Shrines and 
Temples was now administered in connection with the Bureau 
of Registration of the Department of Finance. 3 The explana- 
tion of this situation is to be found in the fact that the govern- 
ment at this time required the registration of the birth of chil- 
dren with the authorities of local shrines. 4 In these changes 
Buddhist affairs were given a certain limited amount of official 
supervision but the general situation was not one in which an 
organization of the strength of Buddhism could long rest 
content. 

The exclusive position of Shinto was thus of but brief 
duration. Buddhist aggression once more manifested itself and 
as a result on April 21, 1872, the Department of Shinto was 
abolished and in its stead appeared a Department of Religion 
{Kyobu S/to), 5 having oversight of all legally recognized reli- 
gious bodies. The scope of business placed in charge of the 
new office plainly shows that the government of the time was 
temporarily committed to a program which was attempting to 
support the institutions of the state with an amalgamation of 
Buddhism and Shinto. The law stipulated that the Kyobusho 
should take charge of the following affairs. 

1. Shulcyo Yoran (^|feg^, "Religious Directory," Pub. by the Bureau 
of Religions, Japanese Department of Education, Tokyo, I916), p. I. 

2. H. Z , 1 87 1, Dajokan Section, p. 294, Orders No. 375, 376. 

3. Shukyo Yoraii, op. ciU 

4. H. Z., 1870, pp. 248 254. 

5- Mf 

6. The law states, " It is announced that the Jin°isho is hereby abolished 
and the Kydbush'o is established." H. Z., 1872, p. 79 (April 21/. Also, " Since 
the Kyobusho has been established recently, affairs relating to Shinto priests come 
under the jurisdiction of this office." H. Z., D jokan section, p, 94 (June 5). 



14 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINT5 

** I. Matters relating to the establishment and abolishment 
oi shrines and temples and also matters relating to the deter 
mination of the rank and grade of priests of both Shinto and 
Buddhism. 

" 2. Matters relating to the new appointment of priests of ' 
Shinto and Buddhism. 

"3. Matters relating to the licensing of the publication 
of books on doctrine. 

" 4. Matters relating to licensing those who assemble 
believers and explain doctrines and those who form religious 
associations. 

"5. Matters relating to the judgement of doctrinal 
cases." 1 

Buddhism was thus again, accorded full government re- 
cognition and given the same grade of autonomy as was 
granted Shinto. Buddhist and Shinto priests without distinc- 
tion were now officially designated Kyodo S/ioku 2 (" Teachers 
of Religion and Morals"). This office was established May 31, 
1872, 3 and on September 10th of the same year was definitely 
extended to include Shinto priests. The law reads, " Let it 
be understood that hereafter priests (Shintd) are to have the 
office of Kyodo Shokit." 4, The main duties of the Kyodo Shoku 
were comprehended in preaching and teaching in exposition of 



1. H. Z., 1872, Dajokan Section, pp, 80-81 (April, 30). Similar legislation 
of a slightly earlier date says regarding the business of the Kyobusho, " This 
department shall have control over all matters concerning relig"ous teaching. 
The main items of business coming under its jurisdiction are as follows : 

(i) Affairs concerning doctrines and sects. 

(2) Affairs concerning regulations for religions. 

(3) Affairs concerning the abolishing and establishing of shrines and temples. 

(4) Affairs concerning the rank of priests of Shinto and Buddhism and the 
grade of shrines and temples. 

(5) Appointment of Shinto priests and of priests and nuns of Buddhism." 
H. Z., 1872, Dajokan Section, p. 448 (April, 25). 

2. ««$ 

3. H. Z., 1872, p. 93. 

4. H. Z., 1872, p. 172. 



THE FOI.ITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 1 5 

certain politico-religious propositions established by law in the 
form of " Regulations for Preaching." These regulations stated 
three articles which were to guide religious instruction. 

" Article I. To embody the principles of reverence and 
patriotism. 

" Article II. To make plain the Laws of Heaven and the 
Way of Humanity. 

" Article III. To lead the people to respect the Emperor 
and to be obedient to his will." 

These homiletical directions closed with the statement, 
"These three principles must be observed always and care 
must be exercised in preaching not to go contrary to their 
purport." 1 

Preaching places called Shokyoin 2 ("Small Religious In- 
stitutes ") were now established within the shrines themselves in 
order to facilitate instruction according to the " three principles." 
" All priests and Kyodoshoku serving in either the large or small 
shrines of the country shall understand a small kyoin to mean a 
preaching place in front of a shrine. The main duty of the 
priests shall be the instruction of parishioners in accordance 
with the three principles. They should lead the people to study 
so widely that there will be no one who is ignorant. Thus 
civilization will be promoted and the fundamental principle of 
the unity of religion and the state 3 will be realized." 4 

Further evidence showing the extent to which Shinto was 
now officially regarded as a religion with functions similar to 
those of Buddhism is to be found in another important religious 
enactment of the same year, legalizing Shinto funeral ceremonies 
conducted by Shinto priests. The law declares, " Prior to this 
it has been forbidden for Shinto priests to conduct funeral 
services, but hereafter on application for a Shinto funeral on the 

1. H. Z., 1872, pp. 1288-1289, Kyobusho Order, Extra (June, 3). 

2. $%£ 

4. H. Z., 1872, p. 1287, K)dfotshc, Order No. 29 (December, 24). 



1 6 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 

part of parishioners, it is permitted to give assistance to the chief 
mourners and conduct ceremonies." 1 

Under the influence of this state policy a form of Ryobu 
Shinto made a temporary appearance as a state religion. Bud 
dhism fraternized officially with Shinto. Buddhist priests 
appeared in public clad in Shinto robes. The Japanese govern- 
ment, however, very quickly found that it was trying to plow 
with a team that could not pull together. The powerful 
Shin sect of Buddhism which throughout its history had 
consistently disdained to sanction any rapprochmeut with 
Shinto, refused now to be drawn into any entangling alliances. 2 
Accordingly, on May 3, 1875, the government made formal 
dissolution of partnership with Buddhism after an experi- 
ment that had lasted just three years and thirteen days. The 
breach with Buddhism was never to be closed ; rather, it was to 
widen with the passing years. The control of Buddhism and 
Shinto remained for the time being as before in the charge of 
the Kyobusho, but all union was prohibited. The law is very 
explicit on this point, — " To the superintendent priests of all 
sects of Shinto and of Buddhism. As stated in the subjoined 
notice, the establishment of union religious institutes {kyoin) 
between the sects of Shinto and Buddhism is now prohibited. 
The three principles for preaching shall be observed more 
carefully ; independent kyoin shall be established ; and propa- 
ganda shall be carried on diligently. 

" ^Subjoined notice). Propaganda carried on through union 
kyoin of Shinto and Buddhism is prohibited. Propaganda shall 
be conducted independently hereafter. These orders shall be 
communicated to the Kyddoshoku.' n 



1. H. Z., 1872, p. 134, Dajokan Order No. 193 (August, 2). 

2. On the Buddhist situation consult Soek:, Ariyoiihi, Dm Nikon Shingi Shi 
(^ffi^fl,. ^B'&JlHlK.jjL* "An Account of the Deities of Great Japan," 
Tokyo, 19 1 3), p 1296. 

3. H. Z., 187^, p. 1666, Kyobusho Orders No. 4 and 14 (May, 3). 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 1 7 

Finally, in January 1877, religious affairs passed under the 
control of a new office, namely, the Shaft Kyoku, 1 or Bureau 
of Shrines and Temples in the Department of Home Affairs. 2 
This new bureau was to supervise religious affa'rs until the 
memorable legislation of 1900 which separated the Shinto 
shrines altogether from ordinary religious institutions. In all 
these changes we have an official classification of Shinto along 
with other organizations frankly recognized as religious, a 
matter that is especially noteworthy in view of actions that the 
government was to take before the nineteenth century was 
completed. It is difficult to see in this adjustment of the rela- 
tions of Shinto and the state proof of a lack of vitality in Shinto 
itself. We can discern in these changes and others that were 
to follow an attempt on the part of the government to 
modernize its religious policy but at the same time retain the 
support of the spirit that was bound up with at least a. section 
of Shinto institutions. The period 187T-72, in which the most 
important of the above mentioned changes took place, marks 
the beginning of a new era in Japanese political and social 
affairs. It is the real beginning of modern Japan. At this time 
the government was rcorgan'zed, 3 the old feudal clans were 
abolished, the present day division into ken (provinces) was 
adopted, 4 a beginning was made in organizing the Japanese 



2. " The Kyobusho is hereby abolished. The business hitherto carried on 
in this office is now transferred to the Department of Home Affairs (Naimu Sho)." 
II. Z, 1877, Dojokan Section, p. 2, Order No 4. Prior to this, on Nov. 25, 1872, 
a law had appeared declaring, « The Department of Education (Mombtisho) and 
the Department of Religion {Kyobusho, are hereby amalgamated." H. Z., 1872, 
p. 218. The Kyobusho retained its existence, however, and the Shinto situation 
was not affected. 

3. T. A. S. J., XLIT, Pt. I, pp. 34 ff. ; Phoenix (" A Monthly Magazine 
for China, Japan, and Eastern Asia," London), Aug., 1872, p. 38; id. June. 
1873. p 185. 

4. T. A. S J., #. cit. } pp. 32-33. 



1 8 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 

army on European models, 1 the Western calendar was adopted 
(Jan. I, 1873), 2 outcasts were admitted to citizenship, railroad, 
newspaper, mint, dock, and modern postal system appeared for 
the first time, and the Imperial University was established in 
Tokyo. 3 Along with other changes the religious policy of the 
government was broadened so as to make room for the more 
adequate control of all religious bodies, non-Shinto as well as 
Shinto. An effect of this policy was seen in the removal in 
1873 of public proscriptions against Christianity. 4 It is note- 
worthy, however, that Shint5 had not ceased to occupy the 
position of the cult of the Imperial Household, nor had the 
position of Shinto as the cult of the state itself been relinquished 
either in the temporary merging with Buddhism, or again, in 
the act which invested the control of both religions in the 
Bureau of Shrines and Temples. The special intimacy ex- 
isting between Shinto and the Japanese state at the time 
is well shown in the efforts of the government to secure 
full control over the shrines and introduce order into their 
ceremonial-. 

One of the first problems that had confronted the new 
Japanese government, when once committed to a policy which 
united the affairs of the state with those of Shinto, was to 
introduce order into the confusion that had grown up in the 
control of the Shinto shrines during the long period of Buddhist 
dominance and state neglect. That the disorder in the shrine 



1. Phenix, July, 1871, p. 15. 

2. Phoenix, June, 1873, p. 187 ; T. A. S. J , Vol. XXXVII, pp. 126-127. 

3. T. A. S. J., Vol. XXII, Pt. II, p. 117 ; Phoenix, May, 1872, p. 192; 
Brinkley, Japan, Its History Arts and Literature, Vol. V, p. 88; lenaga, 
Toyokichi, The Constitutional Development of Japan (Johns Hopkins Univer ity 
Studies in Hist, and Pol. Science, Ninth Series, 1 891), pp. 44-48 ; Chamberlain, 
Things Japanese (1891), p. 221 ; Clement, E. W., A Handbook of Modem Japan, 
(Chicago, 1904), p 110. 

4. Cf. Annual Repoit of American Boar.i of Commissioners for Foreign 
Missions, 1873 (Boston, Riverside Press), p. 72. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINT5 1 9 

world was great is well attested by government legislation 
itself, The most conspicuous single cause of confusion was in 
the hereditary nature of the Shinto priesthood, a condition of 
things which had developed largely during the medieval period. 
Thereby the shrines had become practically the private pro- 
perty of the priests w'th the shrine revenues treated as personal 
income. The center of the problem from the standpoint of the 
government thus lay in breaking the hereditary priesthood of 
Shinto and in bringing the finances of the shrines completely 
under government control. The problem was solved by a 
noteworthy proclamation issued July I, 1871, in which appears 
a clear indication of the confusion that had fallen upon the 
shrines and also a plain intimation of the intention of the 
government to utilize the shrines as a part of the regulative 
machinery of the state itself. The document says, "The affa : rs 
of the shrines are religious festivals pertaining to the nation and 
are not to be controlled by a single person or by a single family. 
Since the Middle Ages, owing to the degradation of right 
principles, the offices of the Shinto priesthood have become 
hered'tary. While it is true that the inheritance of some 
priestly offices has been handed down from the Age of the 
Gods, yet for the most part priests have been merely appointed 
temporarily. Some have simply made this temporary title 
hereditary, while in other cases the affairs of the shrines have 
become hereditary owing to changes in land inspectors and 
district lords. Even the priestly office of small village shrines 
has become hereditary. The incomes of the shrines have been 
made family stipends and treated as private property. This 
widespread practice has continued so long that Shinto priests 
have come to form a different class from ordinary people and 
warriors. This does not agree v\ ith the present form of govern- 
ment which is the unity of religious affairs and the state. Owing 
to the greatness of the abuse a reform is now instituted : all 
priests from those of the hereditary priestly office of the Great 
Shrine of Ise down to the various priests of all the shrines of 



20 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 

the country hereafter shall be carefully selected and appointed. 
By Imperial order." 1 

The law abolishing the hereditary control of the priestly 
office was followed by a similar enactment directed toward the 
separation of public and private worship in Shinto. Thus the 
control of the ceremonies of the public shrines was lodged more 
firmly in the hands of the government: itself. The law states : 
" Up to the present people have resorted in numbers to shrines 
and temples established on private premises and have worship- 
ped there. This practice has a natural tendency to take on a 
form of public worship. This is wrong. All such worship is 
forbidden hereafter." 2 

The proclamation abolishing hereditary priesthood was 
accompanied by new regulations which classified all shrines 
according to a fixed grade. In this readjustment may be discern- 
ed again the attempt of the government to strengthen its control 
by the introduction of further order into the confusion that had 
come upon the shrines during the medieval period. The grades 
of shrines that now appear are : Kampei Taisha, " Govern- 
ment Shrines of Major Grade " ; Kampei Chusha, " Government 
Shrines of Middle Grade " ; Kampei Shosha, " Government 
Shrines of Lesser Grade " ; Bekkaku Kampeisha, " Special 
Government Shrines " ; Kokuhei Taisha, " National Shrines of 
Major Grade " ; Kokuhei Chusha, " National Shrines of Middle 
Grade " ; Kokuhei Shosha, " National Shrines of Lesser 
Grade"; Fusha, "Urban Prefectural Shrines"; Hansha, 
" Daimiate Shrines"; Kensha, " Prefectural Shrines"; and 
Gosha, "District Shrines." 3 The grade ot Har/sha disappeared 



1. H. Z , 1871, p. 187, Dojokan Order No. 234 July i). 

2. II. Z., 1876, p. 1320, kyobusho Order No. 38 (Dec. 15). 

3. Op. at. In the existing gradation of shrines the highest rank is occupied 
by the Grand Shrine of Ise which is considered to be ou'side of and above the 
shrine sys em proper, corresponding to the position of the Emperor in the 
poliiical life of the nation. Next come the Kampeisha ('"g^ifi), divided into 



TH :•■. POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF M DERN SHINTO 21 

with the abolition of the Han in 1871, otherwise the classifica- 
tion has furnished the basis of shrine gradation right down to 
the present. 

On April 13, 1875, uniform rituals and ceremonials for 
the Shinto shrines were established by law. The publication 
of these new forms for worship was accompan'ed by the fol- 
lowing statement : " Confusion in the ceremonies of the shrines 
has continued from the Middle Ages. At the opening of the 
Restoration the Office for Shinto {Jingikwan) was established 
and the deterioration of the ancient ceremonies was with 
difficulty remedied and the revival thereof was promoted. The 

grade of the shrines of the enfre country was established A 

fixed form of ceremony for use in presenting heihaku and 



the four classes lis'ed above. The support and management of these shrines is 
under the direction of the central government. Funds for offerings are supplied 
by the Imperial Household. Kokulnisha (jigj^fii:), divided into the three 
classes of major, middle, and lesser grades, are ranked on an equality with the 
Kamfieisha. Like the latter they are supported by the central government. 
Funds for offerings are supplied from the national treasury. The prefectural 
governors participate in the great festivals. Only five Kokuheisha have been 
raised to the major grade of this class. Next below the Kokuheisha come the 
Fukensha ($ff£jf±)- Those which are in Tokyo-fu, Kyoto-fu and Osaka-fu are 
called Fmha, while those in Hokkaido and the prefectures are called Kensha. 
Funds for offerings are supplied from the prefectural treasuries Gosha (^Kfi), 
are those shrines dedicated to the tutelary deities of a locality and have shrine- 
grade next below the fttkewsha. Funds for offerings are supplied from the offices 
of cities avid gun ("district," "county"). Below the Gosha are the Sonsha (j^jjf±, 
"Village Shrines"), supported by the village communities, and, in addition to 
these, the Mukakusha, (ia^^t\ shrines without shrine-grade but which, never- 
theless, are granted government recognition Shokonsha (jg^ifiL\ are a special 
class of shrines outside of the above gradation, in which are enshrined the spirits 
of those who have died in the military service of the state The Yasukuni 
Shrine of Tokyo, the greatest of the Shokonsha, is an exception in that it is 
classed as a Government Shrine of Special Grade. Miyao and Inamura list 
one hundred forty Shokonsha. On the whole subject of shrine classification 
consult these authors in Jinja Gyoseiho Kogi ('UJtfk %&ftM.%> Wi&ftlk 
?£i*fl!i> "-Lectures on the Administrative Law of the Shrines," Tokyo, 1912 . 
pp 62-105. 



22 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHTNTO 

offerings 1 to the gods is now necessary. Accordingly, in 
obedience to the Imperial command and after investigating 
ancient usage as well as considering the needs of the present, 
a fixed form of ceremony has been determined upon. In this, 
that which is superfluous has been eliminated without sacrificing 
the true spirit of antiquity." 2 At the same time the great 
Shinto festivals were likewise fixed by law. 

A further step toward the identification of political interests 
with the affairs of the shrines appeared in a regulation affecting 
the ceremonies of Government Shrines {Kampeisha) issued 
February 15, 1873. Prior to this date in case of the ceremonies 

1. The text here reads, f^r^C^StilgCD^, heihaku no ten hento no kyd, 
" the offering of heihaku (^^) and the presentation of hen'o (£f| g ." Heihaku 
and henid are together translated " offerings." Heihaku, also read mitegura, 
nigite, yu, nusa, and mainai, refers to the strips of colored silk cloth, brocade, 
hemp, or paper hung before the kami. Hento is a classical name for a form of 
receptacle in which general offerings were presented. In modern Shinto, shinsen 
(jjj^lH) is used to designate the ordinary offerings placed before the altars of the 
kami. Such offerings consist of rice, mochi, sake, fish, birds, fruit, vegetables, salt, 
water, etc. The shrine laws speak of shinsen heihaku ryo (fiitiH^ & 14 » " f un ds 
for offerings and heihaktt." Cf. Miyao and Tnamura, p. 535 ff. 

2. H. Z., 1875, p. 827. The Shinto festivals now settled upon for Govern- 
ment and National Shrines were : 

Kinen Sai (jjjff t£g|), Festival of Prayer for the Year's Crops, Feb. 17. 

Nii-name Matsuri or Shinsho Sai (:$tfl^£jt), Harvest Festival (Festival of 
tasting the new rice), from the night of Nov. 23 to the morning of the 24. 

Rei Sai (1#J|g), Grand local festival. 

Genshi Sai (7Gftn|il)> Festival of Sacrifice to the Origin, Jan. 3. 

KogtUurin Tozanryd (Komei Tenno) Yohai ($$$&3ttllg|^5^i§^), 
Distant worship toward the place of burial of Emperor K5mei. 

Kigen Sefsu ($E7C|fi)> Feb. 11, Festival of the anniversary of the accession 
of the first emperor, Jimmu Tenno, 660 B.C. 

Unebiyama Tohoku Sanryo (Jimmu Tenno) Yohni, (£Xf£'Ml#iUll>£#J^ 
MMkW)* Distant worship toward the place of burial of Emperor Jimmu. 

Ohatai (^^), The Great Purification. 

Kanname Sai ($$!^g), Lit. " Gods-taste-festival " ; festival of presenta- 
tion of first fruits to the Kami, Oct. 17. 

Kariden Senza (fg^Ml^)» Transfer of a deity to a temporary shrine. 

Honden Senza (ifc^jlijgg), Tiansfer of a deity to a permanent shrine 
H. Z , 1875, p. 829. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 23 

of all government shrines a representative had been sent from 
the Board of Ceremonies (Shi kib u Ryo) 1 of the central govern- 
ment. From the above date on, the highest official ot the local 
prefectural government has been sent to participate in the great 
festivals of Government Shrines. Thereby the affurs of the 
shrines have been made to contribute more directly to the 
centralization of the local political life of the nation. The law 
covering the matter declares, "Up to the present in case of 
the official festivals of Government Shrines an officer of the 
Board of Ceremonies has been sent to participate in the rites. 
Hereafter, with the exception of the Grand Shrine of Ise, the 
local governor shall participate in the official ceremonies of 
Government Shrines." 2 

Again by the year 1882 developments in popular religion 
had created a situation that necessitated further discriminating 
action on the part of the government. Various popular 
sects calling themselves Shinto and incorporating large por- 
tions of orthodox tradition, but at the same time involving 
departures from the official cult, were multiplying and seeking 
recognition by the state. As a means of meeting this situation, 
in the year just mentioned, the government divided Shinto 
institutions into two classes, Jin fa ("Shinto shrines") on the 
one hand, and Shinto Kyokai ("Shinto churches") on the 
other. 3 All institutions of the Shinto sects were given the 

2. H. Z., 1873, p. 41, Dajdkan Order, TSo. 23 (Feb. 15). 

3. A law dated May 15, 1882, reads : " It is announced that the following 
associations of Shinto are permitted to take independent denominationa 1 names 
as follows. 

(Former title) (New title) 

Shinto Jingu Ha, WW^%M> Jingu Kyokai, t$%%M* 

Shinto TashaHa, fffi j^^Ciiit^S, Izumo Taisha Kyokai, {ftf|;fcjjti:^fef|\ 

Shinto Fuso Ha, %%M&MkW. Fuso Kyokai, #C^tkii\ 

Shinto Jikko Ha, mWMftm. Jikko Kyoka, »*f$(i\ 

Shinto Taisei H ; p igXf&W* Honkyb Taisei Kyokai, ^Wt.X^^^> 

Shinto Shins hu Ha, WMMWtik^ Shinshu Kyokai, W^fyM"< 



24 TH POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 

latter title and were debarred from using the former, which 
became exclusive government property. 1 

Dr. N. Ariga, a jurist of recognized scholarship, has inter- 
preted the situation that lay back of this separation of Shinto 
institutions into two classes, m a manner that sheds considerable 
light on the Shinto problem as it was taking shape in the 
official mind at the time. From the point of view of the 
government the problem was as indicated in the following 
statement. " In the case of a civilized country there must 
exist freedom of faith. If Shinto is a religion, however, the 
acceptance or refusal thereof must be left to personal choice. 
Yet for a Japanese subject to refuse to honor the ancestors of 
the Emperor is disloyal. Indeed, a Japanese out of his duty 



The effect of this enactment was to change these bodies from more or less 
undefined sects (Ha) related with the official cult to definite independent religious 
associations [Kyokai . A law issued in March, 1885, says, " All cases of govern- 
ment recognition of religious organizations previously granted are now made 

invalid In seeking government recognition application must be made for new 

enrolment in the regulations for religious organizations." H. Z, 1885, p. 177. 

The Jingu Kyokai, connected with the Grand Shrine of Ise, was dissolved in 
1899. Officially recognized Shinto churches at present number thirteen. n 
addition to the five remaining out of the above list, there are, Shinto Honkyoku 
01M^)> SkSisei Ha (^ /£?!£), Mitake Kyo (fljjffegfe), Misogi Kyd (fcf gfe), 
Shinri Kyo QjftJlife), Kurozumi Kyo (|£fti&), Konko Kyo (^^#), and 
Tenti K) (5c^^(), There are other Shinto churches which secure de facto 
recognition by being attached as sub-sects to recognized bodies. The total 
number of Shinto churches, both recognized and unrecognized, is difficult to 
determine with accuracy. '1 here are numerous Shinto groups that are still in the 
condition of small private cults and some that maintain a secret organization. 
All of these bodies are distinct from the official shrines in internal organization, 
government administration and legal properties. 

I. A notice issued by the Shaji Kycku on April 17, 1888 reads "Inas- 
much as a distinction is made between the religious associations of the (Shinto) 
churches and the shrines the attachment of the title of « Shrine ' to church 
associations is not only inappropriate but it also affects the incomes of the shrines. 
It should be known that this matter is covered in Art. 6 of Order No II, issued 
by this office in 1885, and it thus should be proper to infer that this is not 
permitted. Notice is hereby given by way of precaution." Genko Jinja Honi 
Ruisan, p. 340. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 2$ 

as subject must honor the ancestors ot the Emperor. This is 
not a matter of choice. It is a duty. Therefore th's cannot 
be regarded as religion. It is ritual. It is the ceremonial of 
gratitude to ancestors. In this sense the government protects 
the shrines and does not expound doctrine. On the other 
hand since it is possible to establish doctrines with regard to 
the (Shinto) deities, it is necessary to permit freedom of belief 
in Shinto considered as a religion. Hence there has arisen 
the necessity of distinguishing between Shinto regarded as the 
functioning of national ritual and that Shinto which proclaims 
doctrines as a religion." 1 

In the same year we discern the beginning of an attempt 
to eliminate the popular religious nature of the most important 
shrines. A regulation of the Home Department promulgated 
on January 24th of this year reads, " From this date on the 
right of Shinto priests to exercise the function of teachers of 
religion and morals (Kyddo Shokii) is abolished. Priests shall 
not take charge of funeral services. Exception : For the present, 
priests connected with shrines of prefectural rank or lower may 
do as before." 2 The exception to the regulation is such as to 
limit the scope of the altered status of the priesthood to the 
two highest grades ot shrines, that is, to the Government Shrines 
and the National Shrines. These are precisely the shrines, 
however, which because of their national character are of most 
value to the state in the centralization of the sentiments of the 
people. The office of Kyddo Shoku was finally abolished for all 
shrines two years later. 3 The right of Shinto priests connected 

1. Ariga, Nagao, Shinto Kokkyo Ron {%%&%&, WM.WbWim, " Shint5 as 
a State Religion") in Tetsugaku Zasshi (f£p£t|^) "Philosophical Magazine," 
Vol. 25, No. 280 (June, 1 9 10), p. 702. 

2. H. Z., 1882, p. 333. 

3. The law says, " The office of kyodoshoku is hereafter discontinued in Shinto 
and Buddhism. All affairs relating to the appointment or dismissal of the 
superiors of temples and the promotion or degradation of the rank of religious 
teachers are entrusted to the superintendent priest of each sect." H. Z., 1884, p. 
142. The same law further provides that the number of superintendent priests 



26 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

with shrines lower than those of government or national grades 
to conduct funeral services was not abrogated, however, and the 
practice exists in the present with legal recognition. 

The Japanese government itself, in explanation ot these 
changes says, "In 1884 the official appointment of religious 
instructors {Kyoddshoku) was discontinued and the authority 
to appoint preachers was entrusted to the Head-priests (Kwan- 
cho) of the various sects, Shinto or Buddhist, together with the 
right of selecting the resident priest (Jushoku) for the temples 
under their jurisdiction. Further, each sect was given the 
power to manage its own affairs under the supervision of the 
government, which now relinquished its missionarizing function. 
Religion was thus separated from politics' 11 

In 1899 an d 1900 the Japanese government took the final 
steps in carrying out the policy of isolating the political and 
social values of Shinto. The government now attempted to 
provide a better legal basis for the position that official Shinto 
was not a religion, an interpretation that has been maintained in 
spite of all difficulties right up to the present. The priests of Ise 
prepared the way in 1899 by taking the ground that Shinto 
was merely a cult for the preservation ot veneration for 
ancestors and the maintenance of historical continuity in Japanese 
society. 2 The Ise authorities made application to the govern- 
ment for the right to abandon their status as a religious body 
and become a secular juridical person (zaidan hojiri) with the 

shall be limited to one for each sect of either ShintS or Buddhism. The federa- 
tion of several sects under one superintendent priest is permitted. 

1. A General View of the Present Religious Situation in Japan, p 2. Pub. 
by the Bureau of Religions, Japanese Department of Education, 1920. (Italics in 
the quotation are mine, D.C.H.) This publication is an excellent example of the 
manner in which the division of all Shint5 institutions into the two classes of 
shrines and churches facilitates an official exposition which, while assuming to be 
" a general view," almost entirely omits one of the most important elements in the 
entire situation. The shrines receive only sufficient mention to confuse the whole 
issue for one who is not previously acquainted with religious developments in 
modern Japan. 

2. Cf. Japan Weekly Mail, Sept. g, 1899, p. 261. 



THE FOLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 2J 

title Jingu Hosaikai, 1 " The Reverence Society of Jingu." 
The request was granted on September 4, 1 899.* Then under 
the new government regulation of 1900 the Bureau of Shrines 
and Temples was abolished and a Jinja Kyoki? (" Bureau of 
Shrines ") and a Shukyo Kyoku* (" Bureau of Religions ") were 
established in the Department of Home Affairs. The former 
office was put in charge of the official cult, and the latter of 
Shinto sects, Buddhism and other religious bodies. A legal 
basis was thus provided for the interpretation that the official 
shrines were national institutions of an ethical and historical 
character, and places where all Japanese subjects should offer 
reverence. Expenses connected with upkeep were to be borne, 
wholly or in part, by the central, provincial or local govern- 
ments. The ceremonies of official Shinto were nationalized as 
koku rely " national rites." 5 

The laws of 1900 fixing the official line of demarcation that 
was to be drawn between the Shinto shrines and religious 
institutions as such appear in Imperial Ordinance (Chokurei), 
Number 163, April 26, 1900. This new statute embodies the 
reorganization of the Department of Home Affairs of the 
Japanese Government and details corrections and additions to be 
made to certain legislation found in Imperial Ordinance Number 
259 of October 22, 1898. After these corrections and additions 



1. »§**# 

2. " On September 4 of the present year the establishment of the Hosaikai 
of the Grand Shrine of Ise was permitted and at the same time the Jingu Kyo 
(religious association of the shrine) was abolished." Announcement of the 
■Depar'ment of Home Affairs, No. 99, Sept. 5, 1899. Genko Jinja Harei J\uisan 
(^Mfflifiiifcyi Ti*£lli> "Classified Collection of Contemporary Laws and Regula- 
tions for Shrines,") p. 669. 

3 ftfM 

5 . Government directions covering reports from the Grand Shrine of Ise 
were published on Dec. 15, 1900. These directions classify the ceremonies of Ise 
under the heading Kokurei (|gIH), " National Rites." Cnkd /mm Horei Ruisan, 
p. 670. 



28 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

to the earlier enactments have been made, the laws relating to 
the divided control of Shinto shrines and of religion read as 
given in the following translations. 

" Article I. The Minister of Home Affairs takes charge of 
matters relating to Shinto shrines, local administration, election 
of members of parliament, police, prisons, public works, sanita- 
tion, geographical matters, religion, publication, copyright, 
chanty and relief. He is to superintend the Governor-general 
of Formosa, the Superintendent-general of Police, the Governor 
of Hokkaido, and the provincial governors. 

" Article IV. Sec. I. The following seven Bureaus are 
established in the Department of Home Affairs : 

i. Bureau of Shinto Shrines. 

2. Bureau of Local Administration. 

3. Bureau of Police. 

4. Bureau of Public Works. 

5. Bureau of Sanitation. 

6. Bureau of Religions. 

7. Bureau of Prisons. 

Sec. 2. The Bureau of Shrines takes charge of the follow- 
ing matters : 

a. Grand Shrines, Government Shrines, National Shrines, 

Prefectural Shrines, District Shrines, Village Shrines, 
Shokonsha and all affairs pertaining to shrines. 

b. All business relating to Shinto priests. 1 

" Article IX. The Bureau of Religions takes charge of 
the following matters : 

a. All sects of Buddhism and Shinto, Buddhist temples, ■ 

buildings used for religious purposes and also all 

affairs pertaining to religion. 



I. The law here divides Shinto priests into two classes : Shinkan ()fif *g*) 
and Shinshokit (jjiffix). Both terms are translated "priest." The former refers 
to Shinto officials connected with the Grand Shrine of Ise, the latter to those 
connected with ordinary shrines. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 29 

b. All business relating to priests of Buddhism and to 
religious teachers." 1 

On June 13, 191 3, the separation of official relations with 
the Shinto shrines, on the one hand, and religions, on the other, 
was still further widened by the transfer of the Bureau of 
Religions from the Department of Home Affairs to the Depart- 
ment of Education. Imperial Ordinance Number 173 of the 
above date in its pertinent sections reads : 

" The following reorganization is effected within the 
Department of Education. 

" Article I. The Minister of Education shall take charge 
of matters relating to education, science and arts, and religion. 

" Article IV. The following three Bureaus are established 
within the Department of Education : 

1. The Bureau of Special School Affairs. 

2. The Bureau of Common School Affairs. 

3. The Bureau of Religions. 

" Article VI. The Bureau of Religion? takes charge of the 
following matters : 

1. Shinto sects, Buddhist sects, Buddhist temples, buildings 
used for religious purposes, and all affairs relating to religion. 

2. Matters concerning the preservation and protection of 
ancient shrines and temples. 

3. Matters concerning Buddhist priests and religious 
teachers. 

" In the Bureau of Religions are established Section Num- 
ber 1 and Section Number 2 which shall divide the business be- 
tween them. 

1. Section Number 1 takes charge of the following 
matters : 

a. Sects of Shinto and of Buddhism, churches, priests, 
religious teachers, and all matters relating to religion. 

1. H. Z., 1900, Chokurei (Imperial Ordinance) Section, pp. 197-198; Kampo 
(Official Gazette), April 27, 1900. 



3<3 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

b. Business which does not come under the jurisdiction 

of Section 2. 
2. Section Number 2 takes charge of the following 
matters : 

a. Affairs concerning Buddhist edifices (temples and 

monasteries). 

b. Affairs concerning the preservation and protection of 

ancient Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples." 1 
The religious changes of 1899- 1900 are to be understood in 
the light of the general political situation of the time. In 1898- 
99 Japan was in the midst of a period of important readjustments 
of both internal and foreign relationships. In the earlier period 
of 1871-72, as already mentioned, the nation had begun the 
difficult task of internal reorganization necessary to the utilization 
of domestic resources in such a way as to compel recognition 
on the part of foreign powers — a task in which, as Murdoch 
well points out Japan was confronted with the alternatives of 
assimilating occidental civilization or of going down before it. 2 
Now in the latter period, as proof of the skill of her statesmanship 
and the thoroughness of her mastery of the technique of the 
West, Japan, after a successful war with China, arrived at com- 
plete self-determination among the nations of the world, an 
object that had been struggled for with repeated failure from the 
time of the Iwakura mission to Europe and America in 1871. 3 
Now with a series of agreements, lying between the date of the 
Treaty of London of July 16, 1894, and the promulgation of 
the revised treaties of the summer of 1899, Japan at last attained 
full judicial and tariff autonomy. 4 During the period several 

1. II. Z., 1913 Chokurei Section, pp. 255-6. 

2. Murdoch, James, History of Japan (Kobe^ I9I0), Vol. I, p. 23. 

3. Japan Weekly Mail, Oct. 8, 1887, pp. 352-3. Official instructions to 
the governors issued Sept. 28, 1887 contain the words, " Since the late Iwakura 
was sent abroad as ambassador in 187 1, treaty revision has always remained our 
immovably fixed object." T. A. S. J., Vol. XLII, Pt. I, p. 329. 

4. Japan Weekly Mail, July 8, 1899, pp. 27, 36-37 ; July 29, pp. 107, no; 
Au g 5»P 1 3°'» Au S I2 »PP- l61 " 2 - 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 3 1 

new ports were opened for toreign trade, and by the beginning 
of the autumn of 1 899 rights of free residence outside of the 
established zones were open to all foreigners in Japan. 1 

The Japanese government was now in a position to deal 
more adequately with the religious situation. In the Constitution 
promulgated February 11, 1889, Article XXVIII had been so 
framed as to guarantee religious liberty to every Japanese citizen, 
provided that the exercise thereof was not prejudicial to the 
welfare of the realm and not antagonistic to the duty of subjects. 2 
The preservation of this guarantee was of course eminently 
befitting the nation that was now just stepping out into full 
internal autonomy. But exactly at this point an important 
difficulty presented itself. While, on the one hand, a modern- 
izing tendency in the government seemed to demand that the 
state should not foster an established religion, yet, on the other 
hand, the government was in no position to repudiate the mighty 
support of Shinto, for just here, in the official point of view lay 
an important element in the assimilative strength of the Japanese 
people. Hence the official separation of the Shinto shrines from 
acknowledged religious institutions and the consequent interpre- 
tation that Shinto is not a religion. The separation has made it 
possible for the Japanese government to announce that the ad- 
ministrative policy affecting the Shinto shrines " is quite indepen- 
dent of the policy that concerns itself with religions." 3 

Thus by an alleged elimination of the religious character of 
the official shrines, the way was opened for them to function for 
all Japanese subjects as state institutions, in the preservation of 
the continuity of Japanese history and in the stimulation cf 
loyalty and patriotism. The government was placing itself in a 
position to repudiate the charge of fostering a state religion and at 
the same time exercise complete jurisdiction over the shrines and 
gain the support of the great, stabilizing values which they were 

1. Japan Weekly Mail, June 17, 1899, p. 592; July 22, 1899, p. 88. 

2. T. A. S. J., Vol. XLIL Pt. I, p. 138. 

3. A General View of the Present Religions Situation in Japan, p. 2. 



32 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

regarded as introducing into Japanese society. The action of 
the government was based on the recognition of an intimate con- 
nection between loyalty, or national morality, and reverence 
offered at the shrines. As nucleating centers of the popular 
sentiments directed toward a line ot emperors descended from 
the gods and toward all apotheosized national heroes, they were 
indispensable in the conservation and development of the Japan- 
ese spirit. Subsequent events have proved that this " act of 
disestablishment " did not mark a decline in the fortunes of 
Shinto. The government was carefully preserving all that was 
of real value to the state. 

Not only has there been no disestablishment of Shinto, but, 
on the other hand, the intimacy of relationship existing between 
the Japanese government and the cult of the shrines has increased 
steadily since 1900. Evidence in support of this statement is 
given below. 

In 1902 the Japanese government published detailed regu- 
lations concerning the rank, appointment, duties and support of 
the priests attached to all government and national shrines as 
follows : 

" Regulations Concerning the Duties of Priests of Govern- 
ment Shrines and National Shrines." (Imperial Ordinance Num- 
ber 27, February 10, 1902. Revised under Imperial Ordinance 
Number 174, May, 191 1). 

" Article I. The following grades of priests are hereby 
established in Government and in National Shrines : 
Guji 1 (Chief priest), one to each shrine. 
Gonguji (Sub-chief priest), one to each shrine. This 
office is to be limited to the Grand Government Shrines 
of Atsuta and Idzumo. 
Negi (Priest) one to each shrine. 

Shut en (Lower priests). This office is limited to the Grand 
Government Shrine of Atsuta. 

I. §ffj, Guji; tlgp], Gonguji; jj^j£, Negi; £ffi, Shuten; g9jE, Gusho. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 33 

Gusho (Lower priests). 

Note : The number ot Shut en and Gusho shall be 
fixed by the Minister of Home Affairs. 

" Article II. The chief priest shall be under the direction 
and inspection of the Minister of Home Affairs and of the local 
governors. He shall officiate in national festivals, direct cere- 
monies, and manage general affairs. 

" Article III. The sub-chief priest shall assist the chief 
priest in ceremonies and in general affairs. 

" Article IV. The Negi shall engage in ceremonies and in 
general affairs under the direction and inspection of the chief 
priest and the sub-chief priest. 

" Article V. The Shit en and the Gusho shall engage in 
ceremonies and general affairs under the direction of the higher 
priests. 

" Article VI. In case of failure to discharge his duties on 
the part of the chief priest, the sub-chief priest shall take his 
place in such shrines as have the office of sub-chief priest ; for 
other shrines the Negi shall take the place of the chief priest. 

" Article VII. The chiet priests and sub-chief priests are to 
be accorded the treatment of Sonin x officials and are to be 
appointed by the Cabinet subject to the approval of the Emperor 
made through the Minister of Home Affairs. Negi, Shuten, 
and Gusho are to be accorded the treatment of Hannin* officials 
and are to be appointed by the prefectural governors. 

" Article VIII. Salaries are to be attached to the priestly 
offices of Government and National Shrines. The Minister of 
Home Affairs, however, may treat the offices of chief priest and 
s-ub-chief pi iest as honorary posts, and the prefectural governors 
may do the same for the offices of Negi, Shuten, and Gusho. 

" Article IX. The Minister of Home Affairs shall fix the 

!• #|f-£> ran k °f officials appointed subject to the approval of the Emperor. 

2 - # , !l'££> rank of officials appointed by the chiefs of the various depart- 
ments, bureaus, or offices CJwkunin jfijjft) rank mentioned below refers to 
direct Imperial appointment. 



34 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

regulations regarding the service, the salaries, and the travelling 
expenses of the priests of Government and of National Shrines. 

" Article X. The powers exercised by the Minister of 
Home Affairs and by the local governors in these regulations, 
in the case of the relations with the priests of the Yasukuni 
Shrine, a government shrine of special grade, shall be exercised 
by the Ministers of War and of Naval Affairs." 1 

In July and August of 1 891, the year following the pro- 
mulgation of the Imperial Rescript on Education, laws had 
appeared dealing with the duties of priests divided into two 
general classes, first, those connected with shrines of prefectural 
grade and below (laws of July), and, second, those attached to 
Government and National Shrines (laws of August). 2 These 
laws in slightly revised: form were republished in 19 13 and made 
l^s^ to apply to all priests of Shinto without exception. The laws 
read as in the subjoined translation. 

" Order Number 9, Department of Home Affairs, April 
21, 1913. 

'.' Article I, ' Priests have the functions of conducting 

• national ceremonies in accordance with national ritual. There - 

fore they should be masters of national classics, they should 

understand the national constitution, and should at all times 

discharge their duties with exemplary behavior. 

" Article II. The ceremonies (of the shrines) establish a 
standard for national morality. Accordingly they should center 
in dignified reverence, and should give sincere expression to the 
sentiment of gratitude toward ancestors (Hohon han s/il). % 

" Article III. Ritual must be carried out according to 
regulations. Only under extraordinary circumstances is it 
permitted to change the order at will or to abbreviate the time. 
On the other hand they are to follow the ancient ceremonies and 
are to be appropriate to the historical usage of the local shrine, 



1. Genko Jinja Hdrei Riiisaii,Y$. 159-160. 

2. H. Z , 1891, p. 206. 
3- £R«t& 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 35 

" Article IV. In case special festivals take place notifica- 
tion must be given to the Chief of the Police Bureau in whose 
jurisdiction the shrine is located, and in case of Government and 
National Shrines an additional notification must be sent to the 
local governor. 

" Article V. It is forbidden to distribute charms to others 
than the parishioners of the tutelary deities and to worshippers. 
On request, however, they may be granted to others." 1 

Miyao and Inamura in their discussion of shrine law make 
the following observations on the relations of high civil officials 
to the shrines ceremonies. 

" 1. On the occasion of either the Festival of Prayer for 
the Year's Crops or the Harvest Festival at both National 
Shrines and Government Shrines, an officer of the local gov- 
ernment visits the shrines and makes offerings to the Kami, 
and the chief priest recites norito. There is no purification 
ceremony. 

" 2. The local governor attends the great Festival of a 
Government Shrine and recites norito. The Purification 
Ceremony is performed. 

"3. The vice-governor attends the Great Festival of a 
National Shrine and participates in the ceremonies. The High 
Priest recites norito. There is no ceremony of purification. 

"4. In the ordinary festivals of the Kankoku heisha in all 
cases the High Priest recites norito and there is no purification 
ceremony." 2 



1. Genko Jlnja Horei Ruisan, p. 212. 

2. Miyao and Inamura, op. cit-, p. 508. 

An excellent illustration of the special relation existing between the Japanese 
government and the shrines is to be found in regulations regarding the ceremonies 
of the Yasiikuni Shrine of Tokyo. The Official Gazette (Kampo) for Apr. 26, 
U)2i, p. 803 says, "On account of the Special Grand Ceremonies at the Yasu- 
kuni Shrine all mili'ary and naval officials, all mili ary divisions, and all students 
shall have a holiday on the twenty-eighth of this month. All government 
officials of Tokyo apart from those of the army and navy shall observe either 
'he twenty-eighth or the twenty-ninth as a holiday. By Imperial Order." 



2,6 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

Up to May I, 1907 Shinto priests were under special dis- 
ciplinary regulations. From this date on they came under the 
disciplinary regulations of ordinary civil officials of the Japanese 
government. Shinto priests were hereby more closely identified 
with the government and the treatment accorded them was 
distinguished clearly from that of ordinary religious teachers and 
preachers. The law says : 

" Concerning the discipline (of Shinto priests) in accordance 
with the treatment granted civil officials, — except in case of those 
who are under special regulations, those priests who receive the 
treatment of higher officials shall come under the regulations 
applying to higher officials in the Ordinance for the Discipline of 
Civil Officials, while those priests who receive the treatment of 
Hannin officials shall come under the regulations applying to 
Hannin officials in the same Ordinance. 

" Appendix : This ordinance shall become effective from 
the date of promulgation. 

" This abolishes the regulations for the discipline of Shinto 
priests and also Imperial Ordinance Number 349 of 1899." 1 

The disciplinary regulations under which Shinto priests now 
come are as given below. 

" Ordinance for the discipline of civil officials (abstract), 

" Chapter I. General Regulations. 

" Article I. With the exception of officials who are ap- 

Cabinet Notification No. 2. And again, " On account of the Special Grand 
Ceremonies of the Yasukuni Shrine, officials of the Imperial Household residing 
in Tokyo shall observe either the twenty-eighth or the twenty-ninth as a holiday. 
By Imperial Order." Imperial Household Department, Notification No. 9. 
Directions for ceremonies specify attendance by representatives of the Imperial 
Family, ministers of state, including the Minister of War and the Minister of 
the Navy, the President of the House of Peers, the President of the House of 
Representatives, princes, the Superintendent General of the Metropolitan Police 
the Governor of Tokyo-fu, representatives of the various grades of nobility, of the 
Department of War, of the Department of the Navy, of each government bureau, 
of the Imperial Guards, of the First Division, of the members of the House of 
Peers and of the House of Representatives. 
1. Genko /in/a Horei Ruisan, p. 229. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 37 

pointed directly by the Emperor and also those who are under 
special regulations, no civil officials shall be disciplined except 
under these regulations. 

" Article II. Cases ki which officials are to be disciplined 
are as follows : 

1. Contravention of duties of office or neglect thereof. 

2. Actions, whether in public or private life, wh : ch com- 
promise the dignity or trust of official position. 

" Article III. Discipline may take the following forms : 

1. Dismissal from office. 

2. Reduction of salary. 

3. Reprimand. 

"Article IV. Those who are dismissed from office shall 
not be able to enter government service again for two years 
from the date of dismissal. In case of serious offense it is requir- 
ed that court rank be returned. 

" Article V. The period of reduction of salary is to be for 
not longer than one year and for not less than one month. The 
amount of reduction is to be at the rate of not more than one 
third of the monthly salary. 

" Article VI. In case of officials of Chokunin rank matters 
of dismissal and reduction of salary must be according to the 
decision of the Disciplinary Committee and must be submitted 
to the Throne by the Prime Minister and shall become effective 
subject to the sanction of the Emperor. In case of officials ot 
Sonin rank dismissal must be according to the decision of the 
Disciplinary Committee, must pass through the hands ot the 
Prime Minister and must be submitted to the Throne by the 
head of the office concerned and shall become effective subject 
to the sanction of the Emperor. 

" The reduction of salary of officials of Sonin rank and matters 
of both dismissal and reduction of salary of officials of Hannin 
rank shall be according to the decision ot the Disciplinary Com- 
mittee and shall be put into effect by the head of the office con- 
cerned. Reprimand shall be by the head of the office concerned. 



38 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

" Article VII. The Disciplinary Committee may not take 
up for consideration a case of discipline which is still in process 
of litigation in the criminal courts." ] 

The above regulations, it is to be noted, are in no way 
concerned with ordinary criminal procedure. They are designed 
purely for the sake of control and efficiency inside the govern- 
ment offices themselves, and the inclusion of Shintd priests herein 
is an expression of the unique status which the government would 
attach to these " ritualists." Ordinary religious teachers are 
completely outside of this classification. 

State regulations governing shrine finances are minute. A 
study of the sources of income throws some light on relations 
between the shrines and the government as well as on relations 
with the worshipping community. The official regulations con- 
cerning financial reports from Government and National Shrines 
is fixed in a form issued January 16 , 1908 as Order Number 1 
of the Department of Home Affairs. The designated sources of 
income are : 

" I. Appropriations from the national treasury. 

" II. Appropriations for offerings and HeiJiakuryo. 

" III. Income through the shrine proper. 
(1). Income from offerings, etc. 

a. Income from the sale of charms and amulets. 

b. Voluntary cash offerings. 

c. Offerings in kind {sake, food, etc.), offerings of 

the first fruits of rice. 

d. Income from saying or prayers. 

e. Contributions lor lighting. 

f. Charges for placing pictures in front of shrines. 

Etc., Etc. 
(2). Income from the shrine precincts. 

a. Ground rentals. 

b. Sale of withered or injured trees. 

Etc, Etc. 
1. Fna., pp. 228-9. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 39 

(3). Income from lands outside the shrine precincts. 

a. Land rentals. 

b. House rentals. 

c. Sale of timber and bamboo. 

Etc., Etc. 
(4). Income from forests which are entrusted to the 

supervision of the shrine. 
(5J. Miscellaneous receipts derived from, 

a. Interest on money in deposit. 

b. Sale of unneeded properties. 

c. Exhibition of treasures. 

Etc., Etc. 

" IV. Designated contributions." 1 

The relation of the Japanese state to the fiscal items of the 
above outline is indicated in the laws given below. 

" The expenses of Government and National Shrines shall 
be defrayed from the national treasury. The amount of money 
apportioned to each shrine shall be determined by the Minister 
ot Home Affairs." 2 

For shrines of lower grade the regulations are given in Im- 
perial Ordinance Number 96, April 26, 1906, as follows : 

" Article I. The expenses of offerings for shrines (shinsen 
keihakuryo) may be met by the prefectural government for pre- 
fect ural shrines, and by the county and city governments for 
district shrines. The shrines which may receive funds to defray 
the expenses of offerings shall be designated by the prefectural 
governors." 

" Article II. The Minister of Home Affairs shall deter- 
mine the amount of money that shall be given toward offerings 
stated in Article I. 

" Article III. Regulations concerning offerings for prefect- 
ural, district and village shrines which are located in Hokkaido, 
in Okinawa, or in any other district where there are no municipal 

1. Ibid., pp. 43 1 -433. 

2. H. Z., 1906, Vol. 2, p. 61, Naituusho Order No. 24 (April 6). 



40 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF M3DERN SHINTO. 

and village organizations are to be decided by the Minister of 
Home Affairs." * 

The above evidence of legal enactments showing the re- 
markable extent to which the nationalization of the shrines 
has been carried out has additional corroboration in official 
statements wherein the determination to utilize the ideas and 
practices associated with the shrines as the nexus of national 
unification is either directly stated or clearly implied. A docu- 
ment found in the records of the Tokyo Prefectural Office under 
the date of October 31, 1908, explicitly announces the official 
point of view. The document is evidently a transcription on to 
the prefectural records of a general order from the Central Im- 
perial Government and may be taken as intended for all shrines 
throughout the country, of the grades indicated. It was directed 
to the Shinto priests themselves. In translation the order reads : 

" To Government, Prefectural, Town, Village, and Ungrad- 
ed Shrines. Reverence (Keishin) 2 is a special characteristic of 
our nation. It may be taken as a hopeful sign that people 
throughout the country have recently begun various public, 
cooperative enterprises centering in the shrines and also that 
various educational and moral agencies havj been organized in 
relation to the shrines. It is likewise a matter for rejoicing that 
there are numerous cases in which the cooperation and improve- 
ment of the people has been encouraged and promoted with 
vows before the gods and thus aid has been given both to public 
morality and to the administration of the people. 

" As for the future, it is now desired that the essence of our 
national life (kokatai) 3 and the glory of our national history be 
exalted by developing the spirit of reverence and furthermore 
that the shrines be utilized in promoting the unification and 

1. H. Z., 1906, Vol. 1, p. 196. 

2. Sfcp 

3. IUff, " national constitution," " national life," "national organization" 
— the political and social organization expressive of the characteristic traditions 
and psychology of the people. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN' SHINTO. 4 1 

administration of the country. These matters have a direct 
relation to the Imperial Edict which was issued on the thirteenth 
day of the present month and Shinto priests should give great 
attention hereunto. " 1 

One of the most noteworthy orders relating to the shrines 
is that affecting public schools. In 1 9 1 1 Mr. Komatsubara 
Eitaro, Minister of Education under the second Katsura cabinet, 
issued orders that school teachers should conduct their pupils in 
a body to public shrines, and that there they should do obeisance 
before the altars. The original order appears to have taken the 
form of Naikun, or secret instructions, to the chiefs of the de- 
partments of internal affairs of the various prefectural governments 
and was handed on from these offices to the various schools. In 
translation the order reads : 

" Concerning visitation at Local Shrines on the Occasion of 
Festivals. The sentiment of reverence (keishiii) is correlative 



1. Tokyd-fu Kunrei (Tokyo Urban Prefecture Orders), No. 45, Oct. 31, 
1908. The Imperial Rescript referred to is the " Rescript on Thrift and Dili- 
gence," otherwise known as the BosJiin Rescript. 

Upon comparing the contents of the rescript with the above order to the 
Shinto priests, it would appear that the government was now giving orders that 
the shrines should be utilized as agencies for the correction of dangerous tenden- 
cies in thought and practice that appeared in the wake of the Russo-Japanese war. 
The main body of the rescript says, " Our country, which has but recently emerg- 
ed from sanguinary war, calls for activities in various branches of administration. 
We desire all classes of Our people to act in unison, to be faithful to their cal- 
lings, frugal in the management of their households, submissive to the dictates of 
conscience and calls of duty, frank and sincere in their manners, to abide by 
simplicity and avoid ostentation, and to inure themselves to arduous toil without 
yielding to any degree of indulgence. 

" The teachings of Our revered Ancestors and 1 he record of our glorious 
history are clear beyond all misapprehension. By scrupulous observance of the 
precepts thus established, and by directing assiduous and unwearied exertions, the 
growing prosperity of Our Empire is assured. In the face of the actual situation, 
We hope that, with the co-operation of Our loyal subjects, the noble work of the 
Restoration may be augmented and the benevolent virtue, of Our Ancestors exalled. 
Our subjects should appreciate the high aspiration with which we are uniformly 
guided." Japan Year Book, 191 1, p. 496. Cf. A'awpo, Oct. 14, I908, p. 343. 



42 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

with the feeling of respect for ancestors and is most important in 
establishing the foundations of national morality. Accordingly, 
on the occasion of the festivals of the local shrines of the districts 
where the schools are located, th? teachers must conduct the 
children to the shrines and give expression to the true spirit of 
reverence. Also, either before or after the visit to. the shrines 
the teachers should give instruction to the children concerning 
reverence in order that they may be made to lay it deeply to 
heart. This is announced by government order." 1 

A further statement containing important evidence bearing on 
the official estimate of the political value of Shinto shrines is 
found in an address to the Shinto priests -by Dr. Midzuno Ren- 
taro, who at the time of the publication of the utterance in 
May 191 8, was Minister of State for Home Affairs. The 
address in part says : " The shrines are the unique institutions 
of our nation. They are the essence of our national organiza- 
tion. 2 They are inseparably related to the state. Thus, the 
great shrines must become the centers of our nation, while the 
small shrines must become the centers of the life of villages and 
hamlets. On these grounds I have advocated the doctrine of 
the central ity of the shrines. That is to say, the shrines must 
become the centers of education, of industry, and of self-governr 
ment ; they must become the centers of activity in all directions. 
. . . . The unique feature of our national organization lies 
in the system of the shrines. This system is well nigh without 
parallel in foreign countries and I have always maintained that 
the faith of the people in the state as well as in the Imperial 
House grows deeper in proportion as the system of the shrines 
is made more and more nearly complete. The sentiment of 

I. From the Tokyd-fu Naimu Bucho Tsucho (ffcJ&lU-fo$u%0kM^ 
" Notifications of the Chief of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Tokyo 
Urban Prefecture"), dated Sep' ember, 1911, appearing in the Mombiisho Kunrei, 
FureikinoBu {-$£%%Wiv> fR^lLZI&y "Regulations of the Department of 
Education, Section on Prefectural Ordinances "], Ch. 3, Ordinary Education. 
Primary Schools, p. 32 (2). The regulation is still in effect (1921). 

2. m^.omm 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 43 

patriotism may be found in all lands. Also, the idea of loyalty- 
exists in all places. The sentiment of reverence, however, is the 
distinctive trait of Japan. To be sure, the idea of reverence 
directed toward the deities of religion, taken in the sense of a 
sentiment of religion, probably exists in all foreign countries alsc, 
but I am of the opinion that the sentimmt as directed toward 
the deities of our Japanese Shinto shrines is probably unique to 
our couutry. Reverence, patriotism and loyalty, these three, 
are in reality but one. The sentiments of loyalty and patriotism 
must take their rise from reverence. 

" Subsequent to the development of institutions relating to 
the divine ancestors of the Imperial House and the shrines, which 
are a unique feature of Japan, the idea of country first made its 
appearance and the idea of sovereign was born. Consequently, 
in order to inculcate the sentiments of loyalty and patriotism, 
first of all the idea of reverence must be propagated. The 
propagation of the idea of reverence is a matter that relates to 
our educational system also, but in the main it is the business of 
you Shinto priests." 1 

Statements such as those just given are not infrequently 
accompanied by an official repudiation of the religious nature of 
the national cult. Mr. Tsukamoto Seiji, writing in 1918m his 
capacity as Chief of the Bureau of Shrines of the Department of 
Home Affairs, gives a clear-cut statement of the government 
position in this matter. At the same time Mr. Tsukamoto's 
discussion furnishes us with an excellent summary of the special 
relations existing between the Shinto shrines and the Japanese 
state, which have been passed under review in the laws already 
considered. Mr. Tsukamoto says : 

" In discu^ ing the matter of shrine institutions it is necessary 
first of all to state that the shrines are not organs of religion. It 
appears well-nigh impossible for foreigners, who do not under- 

1. — Midzuno, Rentaro, ShinsJioku no Sekimu, Jinja ni Kansuru Keen 
OfcFtfcfcBP, W&Wim. W±V-WShW& " The Responsibilities of Priests," 
" Lectures on the Shrines," Tokyo, 1918), pp. II-13. 



44 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

stand the organization of our nation, to comprehend this point. 
This misunderstanding is not confined to foreigners. Even 
among Japanese there are those who needlessly confuse the 
shrines with religion. Furthermore, the number of scholars 
who interpret the shrines as places where religious ceremonials 
are conducted, is not small. It is highly regrettable that on this 
account the feelings of the people are stirred up from time to 
time over the sentiment of reverence. It is not my intention 
here to consider the sentiment of reverence from a philosophical 
point of view and attempt to determine whether or not it 
contains religious ideas. It may be asseverated without the 
least hesitancy, however, that from the standpoint of national 
law the shrines are not organs of religion. Attestation of 
this fact may be found both in national management and 
in law. 

" In the first place, the affairs of the Shinto shrines were 
formerly managed in connection with the administration of 
religion by the Skajikyoku (" Bureau of Shrines and Temples ") 
in the Department ot Home Affairs. In 1900 a division was 
made and the Bureau of Shrines and the Bureau of Religions 
were established. Subsequently, the Bureau of Religions was 
transferred to the Department of Education. It does not 
follow, however, that the shrines were first regarded as non- 
religious institutions at the time of the consummation of this 
division. They were regarded as non-religious prior to this. 
Theoretically it would not be impossible to administer the affairs 
of religion and also the affairs of the shrines, which are not 
religious, in one and the same office which might be known as 
the Bureau of Religions. Again, it is likewise wrong to argue 
that if the affairs of the shrines are administered in a Bureau of 
Religions, the shrines are consequently religious in nature« 
Nevertheless it is only natural that there should be anxiety lest 
misunderstandings should only deepen owing to the administra- 
tion in the Bureau of Religions of affairs that are easily confused 
with religion. The solution of this difficulty was unquestionably 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 45 

the main reason why finally the Bureau of Shrines was separated 
from the Bureau of Relig'ons and made independent." 

"In the second place, formerly the rules and regulations 
relating to the shrines began with general principles ot manage- 
ment for shrines and temples, and cases were numerous in which 
notices and proclamations were issued in common for Shinto 
shrines and Buddhist temples. It came to be recognized, 
however, that since the essential natures of the Shinto shrines 
and Buddhist temples are greatly different and since their 
relations to the nation are altogether dissimilar it was not only 
wrong but quite impossible to govern them with identical rules 
and regulations. On this account from some decades past there 
has been a gradual separation of the two, and now, with one or 
two exceptions, they are altogether under independent rules and 
regulations. Furthermore, the ceremonials and business relating 
to Shinto shrines as well as matters of management and finance 
are all fixed by national law. This is because the ceremonials 
of the shrines are national rituals and the business of the shrines 
is the business of the state. On the other hand, the business of 
the various religious sects of Buddhist temples and of churches 
is of course managed according to the independent determina- 
tions of the several bodies concerned. It is not a matter in 
which the state participates and is thus not the business of the 
nation. 

" In the third place, those who serve in the Shinto shrines 
are officials of the state, although their rank differs according to 
the grade of the shrine. H.I.H., the Lord Custodian of the 
Great Shrine of Ise is appointed as the representative of His 
Majesty, the - Emperor. He receives the treatment of an 
official directly appointed by the Emperor and is in a special 
class. The other officers of the Great Shrine of Ise are of 
Cliokunin, Sonin, or Hannin rank. Also the officials serving in 
Government Shrines and National Shrines receive the treatment 
of Sonin or Hannin officials. That is to say, all have a relation 
to the state and all are officials who take charge of state affairs, 



46 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

Consequently, procedure as to their appointment and dismissal is 
exactly the same as for general government officials. In accord- 
ance with their official rank some are under ministers of state 
while others are under the pretectural governors, but in spite of 
difference, the appointment and dismissal of all are matters of 
national concern. On the other hand, the administrative heads 
of the different sects of Shinto and Buddhism as well as the 
teachers of other religions do not have duties that pertain to 
state affairs and consequently they are not officials of the 

state 

■' Upon consideration of the above three points, not only will 
it be apparent that from the standpoint of law there is a 
conspicuous difference between the relationship of the state to 
the Shinto shrines and to the various sects of religion, but also, I 
believe, there should be no room for doubt that from the stand- 
point of the organization of the state the shrines are not regarded 
as institutions of religion." 1 

The attempt to come to closer terms with these official 
claims must be postponed to a later point in the investigation. 
Meanwhile, in partial summation of the discussion up to the 
present point it may be said, that the real reason for the govern- 
ment's isolation of the control of official Shinto and the 
consequent u separation of religion from politics " is not to be 
found in any a priori conviction of the non-religious nature of 
the shrine ceremonies, as Mr. Tsukamoto would have us believe, 
but rather, in the exigences of historical situations that have 
made it imperative from the official point of view that the 
government should not appear before the world to be fostering 
a state religion but at the same time should retain absolute 
control over the Shinto shrines. 

The extent of the expansion ol Shinto as a national cult 
during the Meiji and Taisho eras may be deduced from a 

I. — Tsukamoto, Seiji, Jinja Gyosei ni Kansunt Chid Jiko (^t-fcvjtm) PPifi 
filftk\-M~? &&1®.-$ i si> " Matters to be Heeded Regarding the Administration of 
the Shrines,"; Jinja hi Kansuru Kden, pp. 19-22. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 47 

comparative st idy of the annual government reports of the 
statistics for shrines, perhaps even more concretely than from an 
examination of the national laws themselves. Reference to the 
statistical tables 1 will show that while the reported totals for 
small shrines of village and ungraded classes have decreased 
since 1900, the year in which the official control of the shrines 
was separated from that of ordinary religions, (from a maximum 
number of 192,332 for 1900 to 111,181 for 1920, a decrease of 
81,151), yet tor all shrines of superior grade there has been a 
steady increase. Since 1899 twelve shrines have been added to 
the class of government shrines ; national shrines have been 
maintained at 75 ; while prefectural shrines have increased by 
189, making a total increase of 201. During the forty years 
lying between 1880 and 1920 government shrines have increased 
by the number of 50, national shrines by 7, prefectural shrines 
by 316, a total increase for all shrines of these grades of 373. 
This is an average of slightly better than nine large shrines per 
year. The yearly totals for district shrines have maintained 
practical uniformity throughout the entire period. A movement 
which, during the past four decades has increased the reported 
number of large institutions of highest grade by a total of three 
hundred and seventy-three is far from moribund. Also, the 
decrease in the number of smaller shrines is more apparent than 
real. Small way-side shrines are not included in the official 
reports. Since 188S the government has ceased including in 
the statistics the small ungraded shrines established within the 
precincts of larger shrines. The total of these subordinate 
ungraded shrines for 1887 was 102,463. The apparent decrease 
in the number of ordinary village and ungraded shrines can be 
explained by the fact that in numerous cases the control of small 
groups of these shrines has been merged. 

The statistics for priests tell the same story as do those for 
shrines. . The total number of priests connected with district, 
village and ungraded shrines has decreased during the past 
I. See below, pp. 324-5. 



48 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

twenty years, although since 191 5 the tendency in all these 
classes has been to maintain equilibrium with an average of 34 1 7 
priests for district shrines, 8682 for village shrines and 926 for 
ungraded shrines. As over against this the number of priests 
connected with shrines of prefectural grade and above increased 
from 1345 in 1880 to 1707 in 19 19, a total gain of 362. 

The figures given above support the proposition that the 
primary interests of the national cult lie in the direction of the 
development of those shrines above village and ungraded classes 
which aid in the centralization of the sentiments and activities of 
the people beyond purely local interests. On the basis of the 
statistics it would seem fair to conclude that Shinto as a national 
cult has been steadily and solidly growing during the past forty 
years and that this growth has been distributed with a fair 
degree of uniformity over the entire period. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 49 

CHAPTER II. 

The Shrine Problem. 

The Japanese government has recently become an object of 
considerable criticism because of its alleged efforts to strengthen 
Japanese nationalism and political solidarity by encouraging a 
form of nationalistic religious worship at the shrines. Criticism 
has come not only from Buddhist and Christian sources, as 
might well be expected, but also from progressive politicians, 
journalists and scholars among the Japanese people themselves. 
The grounds of this criticism may be summarized under three 
heads. 

I. In the first place, the Shinto shrines in their actual, 
historical character are true religious institutions and have always 
been treated as such by the Japanese people. It is impossible 
to separate the shrines from their historical character by the 
proclamation of new official regulations. In the opening years 
of Meiji the Japanese government itself recognized and concurred 
in the existing popular estimate of the shrines. The legislation 
of 1872 which makes explicit declaration to the effect that the 
main duty of Shinto priests " shall be the instruction of parish- 
ioners in accordance with the three principles " can be adequately 
explained only on the ground that the government of the time 
classified Shinto as pure religion. 

Again, a judgement based on the actual practice of the vast 
majority of the Japanese people of all classes must embody the 
conclusion that the Shinto shrines are not popularly regarded 
simply as patriotic cult centers where the memory of those who 
have contributed meritorious service to the Japanese state is 
revered and where emotions of gratitude to heroes of the past 
and loyalty to existing institutions are stimulated. On the other 
hand, the same shrine that serves as site for the official ceremony 
is visited by the ordinary worshipper out of purely religious 



50 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTQ. 

motives and the enshrined spirit, whether regarded as an 
ancestor of the race or as one of the " gods of Heaven and 
Earth " is supplicated for prosperity in business, for health and 
long life, for offspring in marriage, for relief in drought, flood 
and famine, for food, clothing and shelter, as well as for the 
prosperity of the state and success in war. The shrines are 
thus not merely inspiring monuments to the greatness of the past ; 
they are the sacred places of Japanese religion where unique 
access is gained to an unseen spirit-world. 

The Japanese government by licensing the sale of charms 
at the shrines recognizes and makes concessions to this populai 
interpretation. The shrine laws declare on this point : " Shinto 
priests in compliance with the requests of the people may 
distribute charms and sacred images 1 but this must not be done 
out of covetousness and impure motives." 2 

One of the most vigorous criticisms of the ambiguous 
religious situation in which the Japanese government is thus 
involved has been published by the Shin sect of Japanese 
Buddhism in a propaganda pamphlet entitled Keishin Mondai 
Chosa Hbkokif (" Report of an Investigation of the Problem of 
Reverence"), dated December, 1920. In November, 1919, the 
Mikawa Association of the Shin sect drew up a series of three 
questions relating to the Shinto policy of the government and 
presented it to the Department of Home Affairs. The inter- 
rogations read : 

" 1. According to our interpretation the essential nature 
of reverence for deities and respect for ancestors, 4 which for 
some years past have been propagated among the people of the 
nation, is limited to the sense of gratitude. But is not this a 
misconception on our part ? Is there some other meaning to be 
attached thereto ? 



1. 

2. H. Z., 1891, pp. 187, 206, Naimusho Ktmrei'No. 12, Art. 3, July 6. 
4- WlgJE. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 5 1 

" 2. There are people who regard the taima 1 of the shrines 
as images of the deities, and who say that those who do not 
receive taima are unpatriotic. In our sect we look upon the 
taima as religious charms. 2 We base the interpretation that 
receiving them is a voluntary matter on Ordinance Number 30, 
issued by the Department of Home Affairs in March 1878/' Is 
this an error on our part ? 

" 3. Home Department Order Number 7, B, issued in 
January, 1882, states, "From this date on the right of Shinto 
priests to exercise the functions of teachers of religion and 
morals (Kyodo Shoku) is abolished. Priests shall not take charge 
of funeral services. Exception : For the present priests connected 
with shrines of prefectural rank or lower may do as before." 
Since the promulgation of this order already more than thirty 
years have elapsed and yet priests of shrines of prefectural grade 
and below conduct funeral services as in the earlier period. 
What then is the purport of the law just cited which distinguishes 
between Shinto priests and teachers of religion and morals ? " 4 

The government in reply is reported to have made the 
significant statement : " These are matters on which instruc- 
tions cannot be given in writing. If, however, you come to the 
capital we will make oral reply." 5 

This oral statement was not given until October 9, 1920. 
On this date the Chief of the Bureau of Shrines replied to a 
committee of the Shin Sect as follows : 

" I. If reverence for the deities and respect for ancestors 
have in them harm for the nation, then nothing can be done ; if, 

1. ;JcJ|5!t- 

2. t$Vt> Shimpu. 

3. The law referred to says, " It is hereby announced that, with regard to 
the taima of the Jingu, from now on, irrespective of the relations with local 
officials, the acceptance or rejection thereof is to rest entirely with the choice of 
the people." Department of Home Affairs, March 23, 1878. Cf. fatt^f^j Jgff 
fflHfcfe^M ( &W>iZ.> (Sugimori, K., Genko Jinja Horei Ckikujo Kcgi, "Lectures 
on Contemporary Shrine Law," Tokyo, 1910), Appendix, p. 102. 

4. Keishin Mondai Chosa Hokoku, p. 3. 

5. Ibid. 



52 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

however, there is advantage in them, all people high and low 
must cooperate in planning for the progress of these sentiments. 
When the idea of reverence for the deities ot heaven and eatth 
is exalted, the people naturally look up to divine virtues and 
they come to desire to secure daily progress under divine 
guidance. This is prayer. We wish that the idea of reverence 
might advance to this point. This is not, however, to be forced. 
Prayer in the sense of supplication for individual profit and 
happiness we neither encourage nor repress. Yet if Shinshu 
teaches merely pure gratitude toward the deities of heaven and 
earth we have no objection. 

"2. Taima are not images of the deities. They are 
media through which the people revere the deities of the 
shrines. This is their real meaning. Therefore we desire that 
the people should receive them. 

" 3. Concerning the order of 1882 which permits priests 
of shrines of prefectural grade and below to conduct funeral 
services, the law used the term todim 1 (" for the present "). As 
a matter of fact, the necessity still exists. For example, in 
certain districts some people desire Shinto funerals but they do 
not wish them conducted by any of the Shinto sects. It is by 
all means necessary to provide for these people with services by 
Shinto officials (s/uns/wtiu)." 2 

The same report prints a condensed statement attributed to 
the Chief of the Bureau of Religions in reply to the same 
questions. The statement is dated October 12, 1920 and says, 
" I am not of the opinion that the idea of prayer toward the 
deities of heaven and earth must be maintained by all means. I 
do desire that the people receive taima, but I do not believe that 
they must be received without exception. Also unwillingness 
to accept them does not necessarily imply disrespect to the 
deities." 3 



2. Keishin Mondai Chosa Hokokii, pp. 6-8 

3. Op. ciL, p. 8. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 53 

The report closes with resolutions embodying the attitude 
of the Mikawa Association toward the issue. The statement 
says : 

" We should be grateful for the great benefits of the divine 
spirits of Imperial ancestors who founded the nation and establish- 
ed virtue and should offer them reverence that is deep and true, 
likewise, we should be thankful to all the other deities who labored 
for the nation and who gave the people peace. But it is forbid- 
den in this sect to pray for one's own selfish ends and for benefits 
and blessings in this world. This is the teaching of the Shin 
Sect regarding the deities of heaven and earth. We repudiate 
all such things as heresy, Shinto churches, and the deities ot a 
multitude of shrines arbitrarily established. 

" Taima are not images of the deities ; they are religious 
charms. The government, working through a Department for 
Shrines is now making general distribution of these objects. But 
the reception or refusal thereof are matters in which the people 
have freedom of choice. This was established in a proclamation 
of the Department of Home Affairs in 1878. Therefore, to say 
that those who do not receive them are unpatriotic is a gross 
libel." * 

A further statement regarding the taima says, " From the 
standpoint of name, history and past method of distribution it is 
clear that taima are charms. The government and one or two 
scholars persist in trying to interpret taima from the point of 
view of the psychology of the recipients but their attitude cannot 
be called honest in that they do not interpret either the meaning 
or the method of distribution." 2 

Another publication of the Shin Sect, entitled Gyoku Den 
Okura Tdronkv' (" An Account of the Discussion between 
Gyoku Den and Okura ") presents in detail the reasons why 
adherents of the sect are forbidden to receive taima. The most 



1. Op. cit., pp. 13-14. 

2. Op. cit., p. 13. 

3- stfcMmiftSE. m%m&$Mxmtt, m&&t- 



54 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OP MODERN SHINTO. 

important part of the explanation says, " Our position that recep- 
tion of taima on the part of adherents of the Shin Sect is con- 
trary to the principles of the sect has its basis in the fact that 
there exists the idea that if taima are placed on the god-shelf and 
worshipped and revered morning and evening, evil and misfortune 
will be averted thereby. If the actual, popular usage of taima 
is investigated it will be found that beliefs concerning them are 
such as these : If taima are stood up in cultivated fields they 
will prevent destruction by insects ; if pasted up in cattle sheds 
they will prevent diseases of cattle ; or, if put up at garden 
entrances they will drive away evil spirits." 1 Such practices, it 
is stated, are a rude form of prayer for the things of this world 
and thus contradictory to a fundamental tenet of the sect. 

A remarkable criticism of the existing situation is contained 
in a speech in the Imperial Japanese Diet, made in December, 
191 8, by Mr. Tatsuguchi Ryoshin, a member of the Diet. With 
regard to the issue under consideration the speech says : 

" In the matter of the relation of the Shinto shrines and 
religion, it is to be said that the shrines of our country are places 
where the deities of heaven and earth are worshipped. These 
deities are the ancestors of our Imperial Family and of other 
personages of our nation and are by no means the same as the 
God of Christianity or the Buddha of Buddhism. At shrines 
those who have contributed meritorious service to the state are 
commemorated. Thus the shrines are places where rites are 
performed in memory of our ancestors and are by no means 
religious and are not to be regarded as religious chapels. 

" I wish to say, however, that the priests of prefectural grade 
and below perform funeral ceremonies and preach sermons ; they 
distribute amulets and charms 2 and offer prayers. They function 

1. Op. at, p. 25. 

2. Omamori, ofuda. The practice of distributing these objects is not con- 
fined to shrines of lower grade as the speech would seem to indicate. They can 
be secured at the greatest shrines of Shinto, as for example at the Grand Shrine 
of Ise and the new Meiji Jingu of Tokyo. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 55 

exactly as the priests of Buddhism. Thus it is that our ancestral 
ceremonies have become religious and the Shinto priests have 
become religious teachers. This confusion of religion and the 
shrines has in it the following great dangers : 

u I. That the dignity of the shrines be injured and the 
gocd traditions of our ancestor worship be destroyed. 

" 2. That the shrines finally take on the form of a national 
religion and become the cause of the persecution ot other 
religions." 1 

II. In the second place, the ceremonials conducted under 
government direction at the official shrines are ol a genuinely 
religious nature. It is true that the government attempts to 
distinguish between siihai or shuhai? (" worship "), and sukeiox 
sliukeif (" reverence "), maintaining that at the official shrines 
the latter is offered, directed toward the commemoration of 
those who have been conspicuous for loyalty to ancestors, em- 
peror and state in the past. But wfien investigation is made of 
the rites which are employed to express this reverence, it is found 
that even officialdom makes use of religious ceremonial. These 
rites are based on the ancient ceremonies of the Engi Sluki. 
They include norito (prayers), shinsen (food offerings), kaihi 
(ceremony of opening the screen before the shrine), and karat 
(prayers for the expulsion of evil). It is impossible to maintain 
that these are mere forms devoid of true religious significance. 4 

The objection to officially inspired " shrine worship " on the 
ground that it is a real religion has been well formulated by the 
Roman Catholic Church of Japan, speaking through the Bishop 
of Nagasaki. The promulgation says, " The members of the 
Catholic Church, without hesitation, will join in paying due 
reverence toward the nation's distinguished men as a part of 
patriotic duty. Nevertheless, however generous our frame of 



I. Chtigai Nippo (t^Elfft); Dec. 26, 19 15 (No. 4913), p. 2. 

2. mm- 

3. mm 

4. J. E. Japan Evangelist), May, 1918, p. l8l. 



56 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

mind may be with regard to this view of the shrines (government 
view), we cannot give our support to it. . . . Shrine wor- 
ship is indeed poor in religious ideas judged from the inner 
worth of religion, but is amply furnished with a wealth of cere- 
monialism fixed by law. It is an organized form of reverence 
paid to supernatural beings and must be regatded as a religion. 
Moreover, it is a religion forced upon the people, and if it be 
different from Shinto, it may not inappropriately be called shrine 
religion. It is something proposed to take the place of a national 
religion. . . . We regret exceedingly that as Catholics we 
cannot accept the interpretation of shrine worship given by the 
government, nor can we visit the shrines and engage in the 
services for the dead nor can we ever pay respect to the so-called 
gods." 1 

The Federated Churches of Japan (Protestant) take similar 
ground. This body, representing practically all the Christian 
forces of Japan outside of Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic 
constituencies, has taken the position that " to lead people into a 
vague religious exercise under the pretext of reverence toward 
ancestors, and thus to mix the two things, is not only irrational, 
but results hi harm to education and hinders in many ways 
the progress of the people." 2 The Nikon Kirisuto Kyokai 
(Presb.), acting through the Gotemba Conference of 19 17 
has likewise separately passed a resolution to the effect that 
government ceremonies performed at the shrines are conducted 
in a true religious spirit and with religious rites. 3 

The position of the Greek Catholic Church of Japan, 
although not officially expressed, has been interpreted by a 
representative of that body in a recent publication. In general 
each individual is allowed to follow the dictates of his own 
conscience. Worship at the shrines in the sense of honor or 
respect paid to ancestors is encouraged, but only at those shrines 

1. Op. ciL, pp, 180-182 ; Kirisuto Kyoho, March 28, 1918. 

2. J. E., Nov. 1917, p. 413. 

3. J. E., Sept. 1917, p. 340. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 57 

dedicated to the memory of those closely related with the 
history of the country or the Imperial Family. Christians are 
permitted to pray for the salvation of ancestors who were not 
believers and for the spirits of those to whose memory the 
shrines are dedicated. On the other hand, worship at the 
shrines in the sense of prayer for personal good fortune is not 
permitted. 1 

III. In the third place the position of the government is 
criticised as a violation of the Japanese Constitution itself. It is 
maintained that the position of the national government on 
H shrine worship " creates a situation that interferes directly with 
the exercise of the constitutionally guaranteed rights of freedom 
of religious faith. Different non-Shinto religious bodies, within 
the last few years have adopted resolutions and otherwise made 
public utterances calling attention to this situation. 

On October 31, 19 17, the Federation of Japanese Churches 
(Christian), meeting to commemorate jointly the quadricentennial 
of the outbreak of the German Reformation, and the birthday of 
the reigning Japanese Emperor, considered the occasion oppor- 
tune for the adoption of resolutions emphasizing the rights of 
religious liberty under the Constitution. The document drawn 
up at this time makes a " distinction between religion, on the 
one hand, and respect that may properly be paid to ancestors 
and to those historic personages that have rendered meritorious 
services to their country on the other." The churches strongly 
affirm their loyalty to the state and the Emperor, and add that 
it is the duty of all loyal men to encourage a cosmopolitan spirit 
and to aid in eliminating superstition. 

Clause Five of the resolutions then states the main griev- 
ance : " The Imperial Constitution guarantees freedom of faith, 
and we must do our best to see that this law is maintained. 
We must note, however, as utterly inconsistent with the principle 
of religious liberty the following matters : the recent arrange- 

I. J. E., Aug., 1915, pp. 342-3; Seikyo Yowa, May, 1915. 



\ 



5& THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

ments about shrines, the connection established between shrines 
and education, many things that have occurred in towns, 
villages, and elsewhere, and the common custom of making 
the observance of these superstitious customs almost 'com- 
pulsory." 1 

The Roman Catholic Church has likewise called attention 
to the freedom of religious belief granted in the Constitution 
promulgated by the late Emperor Meiji and has expressed a 
desire that the government create a status for the shrines under 
which it may be possible for Christians to maintain their constant 
purpose to be loyal to the Empire and at the same time be 
" faithful to the most high God " without doing violence to 
conscience. 2 

An additional Roman Catholic view, translated from " Les 
Nouvelles Religieuses " by the Japan Chronicle, goes even 
farther and expresses no little anxiety lest the situation may 
eventuate in the abrogation of even the existing constitutional 
protection of religious liberty. The article says regarding the 
point under consideration, " Nor is it possible to foresee whether, 
some day, the religious liberty protected by the Constitution 
may be limited. The text of the Constitution carries the 
construction that this religious liberty is granted on condition 
that public peace and order are not troubled. Hostile voices 
are already heard in the Press demanding the restriction of this 
liberty. Others, on the contrary, have expressed their apprehen- 
sions lest the text of the Constitution be found to furnish a 
pretext for these abuses. Whatever happens, it can be under- 
stood how those who have devoted their lives to making known 
in Japan the benefits of the Gospel, experience, as one or two ot 
them have written, ' serious and legitimate disquiet for the 
future of our holy religion when they see the recrudescence of 
Shinto (the cult of the Imperial Ancestors), the efforts, limited 



1. J. E., Nov., 1917, p. 413. 

2, J. '£., May, 19 18, p. 183. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. $Q 

but constant, of the official world to make it the sole national 
cult, and the gradual advance of Japan toward CaesarisrnV' 1 

The Nihon Kirisuto Kyokai declares — " When the Govern- 
ment authorities encourage this worship at the shrines, yea, and 
even almost compel school children to take part in the same, it is 
clear that they are violating the Constitution of the Empire as 
well as infringing upon the freedom of faith guaranteed by the 
Constitution. " 2 

Buddhist organizations have taken similar action. The 
issue between Buddhism and Shinto reached a stage of special 
acuteness at the time of the coronation of the reigning emperor 
in 191 5. There is evidence on hand to show that at this time 
government officials in various places were attempting to 
strengthen Shinto as a support for nationalism by utilizing 
opportunities that arose in connection with the coronation 
ceremonies at Kyoto. The translations given below from the 
Japanese Buddhist press of the time will serve to show the 
nature of the difficulties that appeared as well as the reaction 
that manifested itself in a large section of Buddhism. 

The Chugai Nippo under the date of November 30, 191 5, 
prints the following : " A statement of a conference of the Shin 
Sect regarding interference with religion on the part of the 
governor of Kagawa Prefecture — 

" Governor Wakabayashi, acting through the Chief of the 
local Department of Home Affairs, recently summoned the 
heads of all cities, towns and villages and gave instructions that 
at the time of the coronation the people of the entire province 
without regard to religious affiliations should erect kadomatsu 
(ceremonial pine trees) at the gates, place kamidana (god 
shelves) in the houses, stretch shimenawa (sacred ropes) under 

1. The National Cult in J afian, "A Roman Catholic Study of Its Opposi- 
tion to Evangelization, p. 8, (Japan Chronicle, Kobe, Japan, 1918). For a Japanese 
answer to this criticism see Japan Weekly Chronicle, Dec. 26, 1918, p. 895, " The 
National Cult in Japan." 

2. J. E., Sept. 19 1 7, p. 340, Resolutions of the Gotembu Conference of 
I9I7- 



60 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

the eaves, that they should purify their houses and that all the 
people should go in groups to designated shrines of cities, towns 
and villages and perform distant worship [toward Kyoto], 

" In certain villages the coercion was added that failure to 
obey this command was punishable with a fine and the charge 
was made that any offender was unpatriotic. 

" As a result the heads of respective towns and villages 
enforced the order on the people and, as a matter of fact, a local 
policeman visited the Rev. Tachibana Jokai at his residence 
within the court of the Kosei Temple and obliged him to hang 
shimenazva at the temple gates, to stand kadomatsu at the 
entrance, forced him to purify the temple just like a common 
house, and commanded him to make public attendance at a 
shrine like an ordinary person and perform distant worship." 1 

Under the date of December II, 1915, the same publication 
says, " In Yamagata Prefecture, just as in Kagawa Prefecture on 
the occasion of the coronation, all people were forced to put up 
kamidana, hang shimenazva, and erect kadomatsu. Owing to 
such extraordinary interference the opposition of the people has 
been aroused and there is a movement to secure the resignation 
of the governor and heads of towns and villages. In this 
province all the sects of Buddhism, including the Jodo, East 
Hongwanji, West Hongwanji, Soto, and Rinzai sects have 
united and are taking up with the local governor the matter of 
this unlawful interference." 2 Similar situations in Hiroshima, 
Shimane, Ishikawa and other prefectures called forth further 
criticisms from Buddhist sources. 3 

Even prior to the appearance of the issue over the corona- 
tion ceremonies, namely, in March, 191 5, twelve delegates, 
representing fifty-six sects of Japanese Buddhism had waited on 
the Minister of Education and demanded consistency in the 

1. Chugai Nippo, Nov. 30, 1915 (No. 4890), p. 3. 

2. Op. cit.y Dec. 11, 191 5 (No. 4900), p. 3. 

3. Op. cit., Jan. 5, 1916 (No. 4916), p. 3 ; Kei Set, Feb., 1916 ;-]. E., March, 
1916, p. 117. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINT5. 6 1 

government's Shinto policy. Their statement reads, " Although 
Shinto is independent of and separate from religion, yet religious 
services are conducted by Shinto priests at their shrines. In 
order to safeguard religious freedom the prohibition of the 
unwarrantable practices of conducting religious services through 
Shinto priests Is deemed urgent." 1 

Again, on December ioth of the same year, sixty-four 
delegates representing fifty-six sects, met in the West Hongwanji 
Temple at Kyoto, adopted a set of six resolutions and appointed 
a committee to carry them into effect. The first resolution is 
important as expressing united loyalty to the central institution 
of the Japanese state. The reading is, " First : The various 
Buddhist sects shall unite in purpose and activity for the revival 
and dissemination of religion and for adding new emphasis to the 
duties of propagandism, with a view to a better promotion of the 
fortunes of the Imperial House." 

The second, third, and fourth resolutions bear further on a 
program of Buddhist federation ; the last two are directed toward 
the solution of the religious issue with the authorities. " Fifth : 
To keep clear the distinction between the shrine officials (S/iin- 
shohi) and Shintoism as a religion (Shindo Shukyo) there shall be 
put forth efforts to prevent these two from being identified. 
Sixth : There being recently a very unsatisfactory attitude toward 
Buddhism manifested by the authorities, these conditions shall 
be made public and an. effort shall be put forth to induce the 
government to remove the unsatisfactory conditions." 2 

A frank .exposition of the constitutional aspects of the 
problem as well as of the difficulties confronted by the Japanese 
government as it attempts to maintain simultaneously a national 
cult in Shinto and a guarantee of general religious freedom in the 
Constitution, is stated in the publication of the Mikawa Association 
of the Shin Sect already noted. In its introduction to the dis- 

i. Cf. Mission News (Organ of Am. Board Mission, Kobe, Japan), June, 
1916, p, 184. 

2. Tokyo Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 11, 1915 ; J. E., Jan., 1916, pp. 30-31. 



6.2 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

cussion of the shrine problem this document remarks, " Whoever 
is born in this country, even if he knows but little gratitude, 
must revere the deities of heaven and earth and respect his ances- 
tors. But reverence for deities and respect for ancestors are not 
things to be used for certain ulterior objects. They are, in and 
of themselves, precious principles for the nation. Accordingly, 
they must always be treated with care and seriousness. If, 
however, the essential nature of reverence for ancestors is for- 
gotten and under cover of the beautiful name thereof, it is thrust 
forward arbitrarily, not only is the divine will misunderstood, 
but also the certain result is that the freedom of religious faith 
guaranteed under the Imperial Constitution is endangered, various 
other religions are antagonized and the sprit of the people is 
thrown into confusion. If one considers the plans of the govern- 
ment during the fifty years since the Restoration and especially 
during the past ten years he will come to know that this is not 
simply groundless apprehension." 1 

The statement further says, " It is very much to be doubted 
whether the authorities themselves possess a firm faith in the 
shrines and the deities. Yet the government cannot go on being 
hlind to the increasing confusion in popular ideas. But as gov- 
ernment officials it is not possible to consider entrusting Bud- 
dhism with the great responsibility of unifying the popular mind, 
and likewise it is impossible for them to depend on Christianity. 
Therefore, from the government standpoint, the unification of 
the popular mind cannot be accomplished otherwise than by 
hoisting up the shrines. Thus the official advocacy of reverence 
for deities is entirely political policy. In order to carry out this 
policy the government would like to regard the shrines as places 
of religious worship. Otherwise, the sentiment of reverence for 
deities cannot be implanted strongly in the hearts ot the people. 
But if this were done it would immediately contradict the freedom 
of religious faith guaranteed in the Constitution. Therefore, the 
government asserts that the shrines are not religious. Thus the 

I. Keishin Mondai Chosa Hdkokn> p. I. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 63 

government is constantly standing in the presence of a self-con- 
tradiction. The reason why the government authorities are 
never able to give a clear and unequivocal solution to this pro- 
blem is just here. In particular, the fact that the official attitude 
toward Christianity is not clear has its basis altogether in this 
matter." 1 

A criticism of similar import from the Japanese secular press 
says, " The worship at the shrines where great men of the 
country are deified is clearly a manifestation of religious senti- 
ment, and so all the rites and forms in the Shinto shrines are 
unquestionably religious in character. The Japanese authorities, 
however, have been averse to recognizing this axiom and con- 
sequently refuse to call a spade a spade. It is a great mistake 
on the part of the government to regard as not religion what 
possesses all the essential attributes of a religion. Yet it desires 
to give a religious benefit to the people by the observance of 
religious forms." 2 

In this connection special notice should be made of the 
Fukuin Shimpo, a Christian magazine which has consistently and 
fearlessly criticized the government position on shrine worship. 
One of the most refreshingly direct criticisms that has yet ap- 
peared was published by this journal at the time of the dedication 
of the Meiji Shrine. The writer says : 

" Shrine worship which government authorities are now 
encouraging and at times even forcing is a matter that is accom- 
pained by numerous questions both from the standpoint of faith 
and of ideas. At times one feels as though truth were being set at 
naught and justice were being trampled under foot. . . . 

" The government authorities announce that the shrines are 
not religious, and then as the superlative proof thereof they 
point to the government organization which separates the Bureau 
of Shrines from the Bureau of Religions. To this kind of an 

1. Op. cit., pp. 5-6. 

2. Yorodzu Shimhun. Trans, in Japan Weekly Chronicle, May 25, 1916, 
p. 836. 



64 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

apology I can "never give my assent. The determination of 
whether or not the shrines are religious is not a matter that lies 
within the province of government offices. It is purely a pro- 
blem of knowledge and is to be determined by application of 
scientific method to the study of religion. . . . Considered 
from this standpoint the definition handed down by the govern- 
ment has no value whatever. . . . . From the point of 
view of the science of religion it is doubly clear that, in origin 
and tradition, in form of ceremony and in spirit of worship, the 
shrines are religious. In this there is not room for the injection 
of a particle of doubt. Accordingly, if the government forces 
shrine worship on us by order, it overrides the rights which 
are guaranteed us in the Constitution. 

" Among the Japanese of today are deists, pantheists, and 
materialists. There are both those who affirm and those who 
deny the existence of God. There are those who believe in the 
immortality of the soul and those who do not so believe. There 
are great differences according to variation in individual ideas. 
Especially in Japan, pantheists who have come under the influ- 
ence of Indian thought and materialists who have come under 
the influence of modern science are numerous. According to 
the teachings of pantheism all change is like the waves on the 
sea. When the waves calm down all becomes water again. All 
things finally return to the Absolute and individual existence is 
annihilated. The human soul after death is immersed in the 
Absolute and not a shadow or sign of it is left. 

*' Again, it is impossible for a materialist to admit the 
existence of the soul. Consequently, for a pantheist or a mater- 
ialist to kneel before ancestors, to offer norito, and pray at the 
shrines becomes altogether meaningless. To what extent there 
are those who out of a desire to preserve public harmony 
practice opportunism with indifference, I cannot say, but if they 
value the truth and are loyal to the principles in which they 
believe, it ought to be impossible for pantheists and materialists 
to worship at the shrines. . . . For the state to be blind to 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 65 

the existence of philosophy and science and to force a kind of 
faith and a set of ideas on the people is to disregard human life 
and spirit, and is folly 

" I am not one who feels that shrine worship must be op- 
posed by all means. Religious faith is free. Those who find 
satisfaction in the ceremonies of the shrines should therewith 
make sincere expression of ancestor worship. But for the state 
to force this on those who cannot find satisfaction in the cere- 
monies of the shrines is certainly illegal and is persecution. 
Where there is no freedom hypocrisy flourishes. I feel that the 
forcing of this additional falsehood upon the Japanese nation 
which is already suffering from great hypocrisy is a matter that 
ought to be fully considered." 1 

The case against the government has been well summarized 
by Mr. Ojima Saneharu, the most representative of the Christian 
students of Shinto. An abridgment of his exposition includes 
the following points. 

1. The nor it o issued in 19 14 by the Japanese Department 
of Home Affairs for the use of Shinto priests contain prayers for 
abundant harvests, health and victory. In view of the special 
position of the official cult, this cannot be harmonized with the 
guarantee of religious liberty contained in the Constitution. 

2. The government declares that at the shrines are wor- 
shipped the ancestors of the Imperial Family and those who in 
past have won merit in the service of the state. If among the 
ancestors of the Imperial Family are included such personages 
as Amaterasu-O- Mi-Kami, Ama-no-Mi-Naka-Nushi-no-Kami, 
Taka-Mi-Musubi-no-Kami and Kami- Musubi- no- Kami, then offi- 
cial Shinto is a religion and the shrines become religious 
institutions. 

3. It is illogical and inconsistent for the government to 
say that the shrines are not religious and at the same time permit 

I. /Mf^j*^^, Mfc I -it"? h^M, {Onomura, Rinzo, Jinja ni tai sum 
Gigi, " Doubts Regarding the Shrines "), Fukuin Shimpo, Nov. 25, 1920, pp. 
57 6 -577- 



V 



66 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

priests of prefectural, district and village shrines to conduct 
funeral services. 

4. The fact that the government does not manage the 
Shinto shrines through the Bureau of Religions is explicable as a 
kind of official sophistry, for the shrines are genuine religious 
institutions. 1 

_-, In spite of such criticism the government has persisted in 
maintaining its position that the shrines are not religious institu- 
tions. A recent statement of the Home Department says, 
" Whatever ideas or beliefs the people may have, the govern- 
ment does not look upon the shrines as being religious in nature. 
However desirable it may be for the people to return to the 
former ideas and interpretations regarding the shrines, at the 
present time the government has no thought of doing anything 
to bring this about. The government simply encourages respect 
for the shrines and believes that shrines may be reverenced and 
supported by those who have faith in any religion without 
conflict or inconvenience. Whatever opinion may be held as to 
what should be done regarding the religious attitude toward the 
shrines, the government will maintain a neutral position on the 
ground that religious belief should be free." 2 

The latest phase of the development of official Shinto is in 
connection with educational problems that have been forced into 
prominence as a result of the Great War. During the war the 
Japanese government appointed a special commission on educa- 
tion to consider, among other things, matters relating to the 
unification of the thought of the people. It is worthy of note 
that forty-two members of the Imperial Diet were on this 
commission. The reports were made public in the months of 
January and February, 19 19. 



1. Cf. OJima, Saneharu, Jetfei sezaru Jinja' Ron (%.%%?&■> fSSt r i£t£ £' £ 
J?$j?ihnffli> " Unconvincing Arguments regarding Shrines," Shin] in, Vol. 17, No. 5, 
May, 1916), pp. 75-80. 

2. J. E., Apr. 1916, pp. 154-5 ; Fukuin Shinipo, Apr. 1916. Statement of 
the Bureau of Shrines. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 6/ 

The Commission alleges that unsound social conditions have 
been developing rapidly in Japan of late and assigns as cause an 
excessive and indiscriminate introduction into Japan of occidental 
ideas and institutions subsequent to the Restoration. The 
report says, " The situation is very giave and calls for serious 
consideration;" and, again, " Such systems, organizations and 
social conditions as are found to be inconsistent with and contra- 
dictory to the fundamental principles of our national education 
must be reformed and readjusted, and for that purpose joint 
efforts of those in positions of authority and those in private are 
indispensable.'' 1 

Along with this harmonious cooperation of government and 
people, the Commission urges the carrying out of a reconstruc- 
tion program along the lines of traditional Japanese institutions. 
The foundations must be the old characteristic culture of Japan 
(Nihon no koyu no bnnkd). The report thus emphasizes the 
necessity of the continued worship of national deities and 
advocates u the preservation of the dignity and solemnity of the 
shrines, commensurate with their sacred associations, and the 
universal education of the people to the true meaning of religious 
ceremonies and also to elevating the status of the Shinto 
priesthood.'* 2 

The issue, however, still remains open. Up to the present, 
it has proved impossible to find consistency in the official inter- 
pretation of the shrines. As an indication of the ambiguity of 
the government attitude, we may quote from the report of a 
"Special Committee on Shrines" of the National Christian 
Educational Association of Japan as given July 10, 1920. The 
report states, " Vour committee made two calls on the Bureau 
of Shrines of the Japanese Government and presented our point 
of view and our hopes respecting both shrine worship and 
pilgrimages to shrines. The only answer we received was that 

1. J. E., Apr. 1919, pp. 136-7; Japan Times and Mail, Feb. 1 1, 21, 22, 
1919. 

2. J. E., op. cit p. 137. 



68 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

the government must give the matter further consideration. 
We greatly regret that we have not yet been able to attain our 
point. Our demand briefly stated is, that the government shall 
adopt adequate measures for making public proclamation to the 
effect that the meaning of shrine visitation is limited to an 
expression of honest respect and is not to be understood as 
religious worship." 1 

The legal difficulty, however, has a fundamental aspect. It 
relates to the underlying philosophy upon which has been reared 
the structure of Japanese communal ancestialism. Is the state 
itself, consciously or unconsciously, committed to a politico- 
religious theory that makes impossible at present the genuine 
secularization of the shrines ? Are the great ancestral kami 
nothing more than mere men who have labored and passed off 
the stage of human affairs and the memory of whose greatness is 
revered at the shrines ? Or are they regarded as actual spirits 
of a superhuman world, able to aid suppliant human beings and 
ever watching over the destinies of Japan ? In attempting to 
arrive at defensible answers to these questions we may turn first 
to some typical solutions that have been offered by Japanese 
investigators, themselves. 

i. ft«fcftHrMt$&iaimmfc p. «• Tokyo, 1920. ~ 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 6g 



CHAPTER III. 

Japanese Interpretations of Shinto : 
The Ethical Definition. 

Solutions of the shrine problem presented by contemporary 
Japanese Shintoists resolve themselves into two general classes of 
interpretation, (i) the nationalistic-ethical and (2) the nation- 
alistic-religious. 

Both forms of interpretation are equally penetrated by a point 
of view which Japanese Shintoists attempt to expound as the 
mark of the fundamental social mind of their race, namely, a 
group consciousness or social and political loyalty which is 
represented to be of such strength as to dominate and very 
frequently to eliminate individualism. 1 The solidarity of the 
primitive " we-group " has made its way up through the clan spirit 
of feudalism into the modern state ; the particularism of the old 
feudal order has been drawn together about a national emotional 
center in the Imperial House " of unbroken line throughout all 
time as Heaven and Earth eternal." Under the stimulus of 
modern conflicts with external forces this social mind has become 
extraordinarily self-conscious and is manifesting itself in the form 
of a nationalism which, as set forth by a large group of Japanese 
apologists, is supposedly supported by a patriotism which is 
unique in human history. 

This situation in modern Japanese social psychology has been 
indicated in the above terminology by the application of the 
term " nationalistic " to both forms of the interpretation of 
Shinto. The difference between the two lies largely in the 

I. Cf Uehara, G. E., The Political Development of Japan, p. 19 ; Kato, 
Naoshi, " Eastern Ideals and the Japanese Spirit," T. J. S. L., Vol. XIII (1914-15^, 
Pt I, p. 142 ; Haga, Yaeichi, Kokuminsei Juron (^^^— , H^^-H^, " Ten 
Lectures on National Traits," Tokyo, 1914, 12th ed.), p. 4 ff . ; Tanaka, Yoshito. 
Sh'md'o Hongi (ffl^g.^, /t^it&ig, "Essentials of Shinto? Tokyo, 1911), pp. 
137-140 



}70 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

nature of the fundamental philosophical explanation of the basis 
of Shinto. The first named attempts to develop a Shinto 
pantheon out of the heroes of Japanese political history, while 
leaving the ultimate nature of these " deities " largely unex- 
plained. The second, while likewise stressing political values, 
definitely ties up communal ancestralism with pantheism or with 
idealistic monism. We may consider the two forms in the 
above mentioned order. 

The formulation which Japanese exponents attempt in the 
nationalistic-ethical interpretation follows along the lines laid 
down in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries by Kada 
Azumaro, Kamo Mabuchi, Motoori Noringa and Hirata 
Atsutane. It concurs with the official announcement that Shinto 
is not a religion, at least in the ordinary sense, and builds largely 
on the proposition that Shinto deities are human beings. Not 
only so, it further attempts to carry this thesis right back 
through the earliest Japanese mythology. 

The point of view here indicated is applied in two directions : 
(a) as the interpretation of existing political institutions and the 
support thereof, and (b) as a means of facilitating a harmonization 
of this supposedly non-religious form of Shinto with thought and 
practice looked upon as truly religious. Behind the former 
application lies the interest of a host of statesmen, politicians, 
soldiers, educationalists and Shinto officials ; behind the latter, 
the interest of many of the genuine religious leaders of the nation. 

We turn first to the consideration of the political application 
of the nationalistic-ethical interpretation. 

There is hardly a subject in modern Japan that has received, 
at the hands of both governmental and educational authorities, 
the attention that has been accorded so-called Kokumin Dotoku 1 



*• HHSililni' For bibliographies of Japanese literature on this subject cf. 
///w/ye, TetsujirS, Kokumin Dotoku Gairon (^Ji^^HfS, W&lM.'MMtm> " Out- 
lines of National Morality"), Appendix, pp. 103-117; Kono, Shozo, Kokumin 
Dotoku Shiron (MffHH, UMiltS&lmi, "A History of National Morality "), 
pp. 256-8. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. J I 

— %i national morality." It is the fundamental motive of Japanese 
education. 1 In the form of apologetic here under discussion, 
Shint5 becomes practically identical with Kokumin Dotoku. 
That is to say, Shinto is now interpreted as either the system of 
national morality itself or as the unique spirit which produces the 
system. It is a social and political ethic emerging from the 
peculiarities of Japanese psychology and history. It is identified 
with Japanese development from the beginning and is regarded 
as vitally necessary to the maintenance of the Japanese state. 
It is admittedly applied as a means of stabilizing existing Japanese 
institutions in the presence of distintegrating and suppressing 
tendencies supposedly threatening Japan through the incoming of 
Occidental civilization. It lays out a program of Shinto educa- 
tion in which the primary motive is the development of reverence 
for the past, respect for authority and loyalty to existing institu- 
tions of the state. It inculcates ideas of the unique sanctity and 
moral authority of Imperial Rescripts, together with special 
regard for the l< peculiar dignity and superiority of the Imperial 
House of Japan " 2 and the assurance that u the national ideal of 
Japan is unsurpassed and impregnable." 3 In such a way the 
protection afforded Japanese institutions by the Tokugawa 
seclusion policy which was disrupted by the arrival of the " black 
ships" of Perry in 1853, is now secured by a psychological 
and educational program that attempts to strengthen the 
inner spirit rather than to put a wall of seclusion about the 
land. 4 

Modern Japanese exposition of the elements of " national 
morality " comes back, sooner or later, to the ethical teaching of 
the Imperial Rescript on Education, promulgated in 1 890. The 
Japanese government and a large number of individual writers 
on the subject are agreed that the Rescript on Education 



1. Cf. Inouye, op. cit., pp. 2-3. 

2. Cf. Motoori, " Shinto Education," Japan Magazine, May, 1917, p. 41. 

3. Ibid., p. 42. 

4. Cf. Inouye, op. cit. pp. 84-100. 



72 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

must be taken as setting forth the basis of contemporary 
Japanese ethics, both public and private. The official English 
translation of this Rescript is here given for purposes of re- 
ference. 
" Knozv Ye, Our Stibjects : 

" Our Imperial Ancestors have founded Our Empire on a 
basis broad and everlasting, and have deeply and firmly im- 
planted virtue ; Our subjects ever united in loyalty and filial 
piety have from generation to generation illustrated the beauty 
thereof. This is the glory of the fundamental character of Our 
Empire, and herein also lies the source of Our education. Ye, 
Our subjects, be filial to your parents, affectionate to your 
brothers and sisters ; as husbands and wives be harmonious, 
as friends true ; bear yourselves in modesty and modera- 
tion ; extend your benevolence to all ; pursue learning and 
cultivate arts, and thereby develop intellectual faculties and 
perfect moral powers ; furthermore, advance public good 
and promote common interests ; always respect the Con- 
stitution and observe the laws ; should emergency arise, offer 
yourselves courageously to the State ; and thus guard and 
maintain the prosperity of Our Imperial Throne coeval with 
heaven and earth. So shall ye be not only Our good and faith- 
ful subjects but render illustrious the best traditions of your 
forefathers. 

" The Way here set forth is indeed the teaching bequeath- 
ed by Our Imperial Ancestors, to be observed alike by Their 
Descendants and the subjects, infallible for all ages and true in 
all places. It is Our wish to lay it to heart in all reverence, in 
common with you, Our subjects, that we may all attain to the 
same virtue. 

" The 30th day of the 10th month of the 23rd year of Meiji. 
[The 30th of October, 1890]. (Imperial Sign Manual, Imperial 
Seal)." 1 

I. For the history of this translation consult Kikuchi, Dairoku, Je.fa.mse 
Education (London, "1909), pp. 1-3. An orHcial edition of the original Japanese 



?HE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. /3 

On the day following the promulgation of this Rescript the 
Minister of Education, Mr. Yoshikawa Akimasa, issued instruc- 
tions which indicated plainly the use which the government 
intended to make of the document. A translation of the order 
follows. 

" His Imperial Majesty, deeply anxious concerning the 
education of His subjects, has graciously handed down an Im- 
perial Rescript. I, Akimasa, the present incumbent of the office 
of Minister of Education, am entrusted with a great responsi- 
bility. Reflecting on the matter night and day, I am fearful lest 
I make a mistake. I have received the Imperial Rescript with 
reverence and, deeply moved, have made copies thereof and 
am distributing them to the schools of the entire country. 
Those who are engaged in education, always obedient to the 
Imperial will, must not neglect the duties of culture and disci- 
pline, and especially on the days of school ceremonies or on some 
date determined according to convenience, the pupils must be 
assembled and the Imperial Rescript on Education must be 
read before them. Furthermore, the meaning must be carefully 
explained to the pupils and they must be instructed to obey it 
at all times." 1 

text may be found in almost any one of the numerous text -books on ethics pub- 
lished by the Japanese Department of Education, as for example, Jinjo Sliogaku 
Shushimho {&%fe9/8fi£kM* " Text - book of Ethics for Primary Schools "), Vol. 
VI, Preface. 

I. Mombusho Kunrei, Ippanho no £« _(j£fBt|gB|fb — W£&2-x8» "Instruc- 
tions of the Department of Education, Section on General Regulations "), p. I, 
Oct. 31, 1890. 

In 191 2 Mr. Yoshikawa made public a statement on the actual origin of the 
Imperial Rescript on Education which makes interesting reading, especially in 
view of the fact that the above order would naturally lead the reader to infer that 
the composition of the rescript is referable in toto solely to the Emperor Meiji 
Mr Yoshikawa's explanation, as given below, shows that the rescript had its origin 
in an effort to apply a corrective to certain dangerous tendencies appearing in 
Japanese life in the eighties of the last century owing to the rapid and indiscriminate 
"westernization" that had been going on, and furthermore, that, as a matter of 
fact, the opinion of experts consulted in the compilation of the rescript was far 



^4 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

Along with this statement on the part of the Minister of 
Education there appeared a covering order from the Depart- 
ment of Education, indicating the same intention of utilizing the 
new rescript as the basis of public instruction in ethics. The 
order reads, " Concerning the Imperial Rescript on Education 
and the Instruction of the Minister of Education, to the Hokkaido 
Government, the Urban Prefectures, and the other Prefectures. 

from being unanimous as to the expediency of this attempt to build national 
character on a modified Confucian basis. The statement says, " At the time of 
the Restoration the late Emperor declared it would be the guiding principle of 
his government to introduce western civilization into the country and to establish 
New Japan upon that civilization. Consequently every institution in Japan was 
westernized and the atmosphere of the " new civilization " was felt in almost every 
stratum of society. Indeed the process of westernization was carried to extremes. 
Thus those who advocated the virtues of righteousness, loyalty and filial duty 
brought down on themselves the cynical laughter of the men who professed as 
their first principle the westernization of Japan every way, and who declared that 
the champions of the old fashioned virtues were ignorant of the changed social 
condition of the Empire. 

" But if any tendency is carried too far, inevitably there comes a reaction. 
The excessive westernization of Japan very naturally aroused strong opposition 
among conservative people, especially scholars of the Japanese and Chinese clas- 
sics, who thought it dangerous for the moral standard of this Empire to see this 
process carried even into the moral teachings of the people. Thus a hot contro- 
versy followed between scholars, publicists and teachers who were divided into 
many schools. The question was so keenly agitated that it was taken up at a 
meeting of Governors at the Home Office in 1890. At that time Prince Yama- 
gata was Minister of Home Affairs, and I was the Vice -Minister of the same depart- 
ment and personally witnessed the heated debate at the Governors' conference. 
It was, however, agreed in the end among the Home Office authorities that as the 
question concerned the people's thought, it must be dealt with rather by the educa- 
tional authorities than by the Home Office officials. 

" His Majesty at once instructed the Minister of Education, Viscount Eno- 
moto, to frame some principles for education. Viscount Enomoto, however, resign- 
ed for some reason before he had completed the task and I succeeded him and 
had to complete the work. I consulted the late Viscount Ki Inouye, then Director 
of the Legislation Bureau, on the matter, and the draft was finally drawn up. 
While, however, the draft was under compilation, we frequently approached the 
Emperor, and asked his gracious advice upon the moral principles which were to 
be embodied in the new moral standard of the nation. 

" As people know, the Imperial Rescript on Education was based on the four 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 75 

The Minister ot Education has issued instructions relative to the 
Imperial Rescript on Education, graciously promulgated recently 
by His Imperial Majesty, and copies will be distributed to all 
schools, whether public or private, within the jurisdiction of 
the department. Thus the Imperial Will will be fully carried 
out. m 

An order appearing in the regulations of Tokyo Prefecture 
at practically the same time as the above, states in so many words 
that the new Rescript was to constitute the foundation of Japan- 
ese education. The statement says : '/ Recently, the Imperial 

virtues : benevolence, righteousness, loyalty and filial piety. The making of these 
four virtues the foundation of the national education was, however, strongly criti- 
cized at that time, and some scholars even declared that these virtues were imported 
from China and ought never to be established as the standard of the nation's 
morality. Others again said that, should such old fashioned virtues be encouraged 
among the people, it would mean the revival of the old form of virtue typified by 
private revenge, etc. But I strongly upheld the teaching of those four principal 
virtues, saying that the essence of man's morality is one and the same irrespective 
of place or time, although it might take different forms according to different cir- 
cumstances, and that therefore the aforesaid four virtues could well be made the 
moral standard of the Japanese people. 

" The Imperial Rescript was issued in its original form, and, in spite of the 
criticism and opposition before its promulgation, which caused much fear about 
its future, the Rescript, once issued, soon came to be the light of the people in 
. their moral teaching and is now firmly established as the standard of the nation's 
morality." Japan Advertiser, Aug. 6, 1912, Trans, from Kokumin Skimbun, 
Aug. 5, 1912. 

In estimating the importance to be attached to the criticism that the virtues 
• stated in the rescript " were imported from China " comparison should be made 
with the cardinal virtues of Confucianism, namely, benevolence or humanity, 
righteousness, wisdom, propriety, and faith. Compare also the well-known 
virtues of Platonism, i.e. wisdom, courage, temperance, and righteousness or 
justice. The relations of ruler and subject, of parent and child, of husband and 
wife, of brothers and sisters, and -of friends with which the rescript concerns itself 
merely repeat the gorin, or five human relationships of Confucian ethics, 

1. Mombmho Runrei, Ippanho no -Bit, order No. 8, Oct. 31, 1890. Note 
also, " The portraits of the Emperor and Empress and the copy of the Imperial 
Rescript on Education, which have been bestowed on each school within the 
jurisdiction of the department, should be placed, most reverently in a designated 
place within the school." Mombmho Kunrei, No. 4,.Nov. 17, 1891. . . 



j6 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

Rescript on Education was graciously conferred and instruction 
was also given out by the Minister of Education. The Rescript 
constitutes the great foundation of the education of our country. 1 
Communication is hereby made to all public and private schools 
that all who engage in education must obey the Imperial com- 
mand and must be assiduous not to mistake the aim of education 
in the future." 2 

Further evidence showing the extraordinary importance 
which the Japanese government attaches to the Imperial Rescript 
on Education as an instrument of nationalistic moral training 
may be seen in the Japanese educational program directed toward 
the assimilation of Korea. An official statement on the subject 
says : " As one of the vital aims of the new educational system 
is to develop in the younger generations of Koreans such moral 
character as will make them loyal subjects of Imperial Japan, 
not only is the general idea of the fundamental principles set forth 
in the Imperial Rescript on Education pretty well understood by 
most of the present-day students, but the new national anthem is 
quickly becoming their favorite song. . . . . 

'* As alluded to in the last Annual Report, when the new 
educational system in the Peninsula was formed, the Imperial 
Rescript on Education, issued for Japan twenty-one years ago, 
was graciously granted to the Governor-General, and the Im- 
perial Will, desiring the extension of the fundamental principles 
of the national education to the Peninsula, was thus clearly 
manifested, also that Koreans and Japanese were alike regarded 
as His Majesty's loyal subjects. Receiving this Imperial Re- 
script with reverence, the Governor-General decided to distribute 
copies of it among the Government Schools and other Public 
Schools. On January 4th, 191 2, the Governor-General issued 
an instruction to the Provincial Governments and Government 
Schools with regard to the Imperial Rescript on Education. 

I- *?R&W ? -)&< Cf. also Kikuchi, op. cit, pp. 3, 102-3. 

2. Mombusho Kunrei, Order No. 27, Tokyo-fu Kunrei (" Instructions for 
Tokyo Prefecture "), Nov., 1890. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. JJ 

During the year under review, Government and Public Schools 
receiving copies of the Imperial Rescript numbered 473. nl 

The Imperial Rescript on Education has come to be re- 
garded as a sort of condensed sacred Scripture of the official 
cult, especially by advocates of the nationalistic-ethical school of 
Shinto. The position of this school is well set forth in the 

I. Annual Report on Reforms and Progress in Chosen [Korea) 1912-13, pp. 
207-8. (Compiled by the Government-General of Chosen, Seoul, Dec. 1914)' 
Mr. Sekiya Tasabur5, formerly Director of the Education Bureau of the Korean 
Government, a man who has been characterized as largely responsible for the 
Japanese educational policy in Korea, has declared, " The fundamental purpose 
and policy of the government in its educational work in Korea is none other than 
that which it has before its mind constantly in Japan, namely, upon the basis of 
the Imperial Rescript on Education, to train the pupils into a loyal and virtuous 
people." J. E., Nov. 1913, p. 481. 

Under the circumstances it is, perhaps, hardly to be expected that Japanese 
criticism of the Imperial Rescript on Education should manifest any special 
courage or originality. Ordinary Japanese attempts at evaluation hasten to make 
avowal of the superlative all-sufficiency of the rescript as an instrument of moral 
education. It is " perfect in spirit and in form, especially in fostering the spirit of 
loyalty and patriotism." (Cf. Kato, N., "The Educational System of Japan," 
T. J. S. L., Vol. XVI, p. 142). It is a most clear statement of the essence of 
Japanese national life, an authoritative expression of the virtues of the individual, 
the home and the nation, an exhaustive exhibition of the good and the beautiful. 
(Cf. Ebina, Danjo, in Shinjin, Dec. 27, 1910). Dr. Uesugi Shinkichi says, "The 
Imperial Rescript on Education supplies the bones of Japanese morality and the 
foundation of the spirit of the nation. It transcends all criticism." (iUf!H;j£2£ 
jU$(, Kokutai Kempo oyobi Kensei, " The National Organization, the Constitution 
and Constitutional Government," Tokyo, 1916, p. 82). Prof. Tanaka Yoshito, 
says, " The Imperial Rescript on Education is the august teaching of the gods 
(Imperial Ancestors)." (Shinto Hongi, p. 152). The same author, writing in 
1 9 18 and commenting on the " Great Way " set forth in the rescript says, "Un- 
like what Confucius says in the Analects, or what Gautama says in the Sutras, or 
what Christ teaches in the Bible, the Emperor Meiji did not merely express his 
own august opinion (in the Rescript), but, indeed, he set forth in epitome the 
teaching bequeathed by the Imperial Ancestors, who are worshipped as gods in 
the shrines which our people have established." (^^iE^^'nMl^^j Kokumin 
Dotokn Yoryo Kogi, " Lectures on the Essentials of Na : ional Morality," Tokyo, 
1918, p. 145). These latter statements are especially worthy of consideration in 
view of what Mr. Yoshikawa has said concerning the actual origin of the rescript. 

An occasional criticism, while maintaining the flawlessness of the rescript 



?8 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. * 

writings of Tanaka Yoshito, recently appointed lecturer on 
Shinto in the Tokyo Imperial University. 1 

From the point of view of Tanaka's discussion a full and 
sufficient indication of the practical norm of Japanese social and 
political obligations is to be found in the Imperial Rescript on 
Education. " The Imperial Rescript on Education gives the 
essential elements of Shinto. That is to say, it expresses the last 
testaments of our Imperial Ancestors, which must be kept by 
our people." 2 The origins of the moral propositions of this 
rescript are to be found in the indigenous development of the 
Japanese race. In conformity with this position Tanaka expounds 
Shinto as the unique historical deposit of Japanese racial psycho- 
logy. In spite of the fact that various religious cults and moral 
codes have existed in Japan from ancient times right down to 
the present, Shinto alone expresses the true spirit of the Japanese 
people. The essential meaning of Shinto is thus to be determined 
by reference to the qualities of this spirit. The heart of the cult 
is not religion at all in the ordinary sense ; 3 it is Yamato Dama- 
shii, the peculiar psychological endowment of the race. The 

itself, attacks the ethical instruction that is based thereon as formal and fruitless. 
[Cf. Kato, op. cit. ; Ebina, op. cit.). Here and there a Japanese critic appears 
with the courage of his convictions. The editors of the Japan Year Book have 
declared, " The Rescript, with all respect to its august origin, primarily aims to 
produce patriotic and law-abiding citizens and is equally deficient in inspiring and 
leavening power." (The Japan Year Book, 191 1, p. 260:. Dr. N. Ariga eluci- 
dates the historical background of the rescript thus : " When the Constitution 
was granted in 1889, it was feared by some that the development of the idea of 
< the rights of the people ' would destroy the idea of loyalty and patriotism, and 
the famous Rescript on Education was the result, which looked at humanity 
entirely from the standpoint of intellect, and excluded all element of faith and 
mystery." (J. E. July, 1908, p. 259, trans, by Japan Chronicle). 

I. Prof. Tanaka is the most prolific of the modern Japanese Shintoists* 
For a list of his most important writings consult Appendix B 

2 Shinto Hongi, p. 156. Cf. also ibid., pp. 147, 1 5 2-8. 

3. Tanaka does not attempt to deny the existence of religious elements in 
Shinto. [Cf Kokumin Dotoku Yoryo Kogi, pp. 162-3). Yet that he regards 
Shinto as something more fundamental than mere religion, is to be seen in his 
insistence that Shinto is a Great Way that underlies morality, politics, education 
and religion alike. {Shinto Hongi, pp. 28, 113, 1 15, 162 ft). His emphasis 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO, JQ 

question is immediately raised, what are the fundamental psycho- 
logical characteristics of the Japanese people ? According to 
Tanaka, these are three in number : 

(i). An intellectual nature capacitating for orderliness and 
unification (Chit su jo teki toitsu teki shiso). 

(2). A vivacious and practical (lit. " this- worldly ") emo- 
tional nature (Kaikatsu teki gensei teki kanjo). 

(3). A disposition toward development and expansion 

(Hatten teki bocho teki seikahi)} 
Eh ■ 

The unique importance attached to this three-fold pyscho- 

logical endowment in Japanese historical development is seen in 
Tanaka's statement : " This spirit has afforded the foundation 
from which Shinto has had its rise." 2 The manifestation of 
this spirit in the actual life of Japan constitutes Shinto. These 
psychological characteristics in the uniqueness of their combina- 
tion are explained as the particular possessions of the Japanese. 
" To be sure/' Tanaka admits, " we must recognize the fact that 
such intellectual qualities as orderliness and the capacity for 
unification have been conspicuous among the Chinese. In the 
case of this people however, even early in the ancient period of 
their history, this spirit collapsed well nigh to the foundations 
owing to changes in the reigning dynasties. Also a sprightly 
emotional nature, in which the things of the present world were 
especially emphasized, is to be noted as having obtained among 
the Greeks. We must likewise admit that a capacity for deve- 
lopment and expansion was preeminent among the Romans. 
These nations, however, possessed these virtues singly. With 

throughout is fundamentally ethical and political. Shinto, even as a religion, 
relates primarily to the politico-religious affairs of Japanese society. (Cf. t^M. 
"n^trat!* Shinto Tetszigaku Seigi, "The Essential Meaning of Shinto Philoso- 
phy," Tokyo, 1918, p. 210). He declares emphatically that if the content of 
religion is limited to the special character.stics manifested by Buddhism and 
Christianity then Shinto is not religion. {Op. cit , p. 205). 

1. Shinto Hongi, p. 32. See also 'fcfg'jm.gkZL^F?;, Motoori Norinaga no 
Telsiigakii, " The Philosophy of Motoori Norinaga," p. 57. 

2. S/mito Hongi, p. 34. 



80 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN- SHINTO 

the succeeding decline of their national destinies, they became 
extinguished and disappeared. Our race alone, having ever 
been superior to the misfortune of ruin, has preserved this intel- 
lectual nature, this emotional quality, and this capacity (for 
expansion) in a special way and consequently has developed. In 
fine, this mentality (shiso), this emotional nature [kanjo), this 
character (seikakit), taken together as one, constitute the in- 
herent spiritual quality of our race." 1 

This Yamato Damashii, or national spirit of Japan, is no 
recent and transient achievement. It has marked Japanese 
psychology from most ancient times, and thus, deeply embedded 
in the spiritual depths of the race, its unchanging perpetuation 
throughout the future is guaranteed. The divine ancestors have 
embodied the very essence of this spirit and have revealed its 
virtues. Particularly is this true of the sacred emperors who 
may properly be regarded as the incarnations of the true Japanese 
spirit. " Furthermore " — to quote — " the deeds and examples 
of all of our emperors from ancient times down to the present, 
have exerted a mighty influence on our people and have become 
the norm of national action in politics, in religion and in ethics, 
thus completely regulating the activities and utterances of the 
nation. Thus, both the basis and the norm for the activities of 
the Japanese race have their origin in the deeds of our sacred 
ancestors. This is Shinto.'''' 1 

" The most revered of all the kami are those of the successive 
generations of the Imperial Line, beginning with the Divine 
Ancestress, Ama-terasu-o~mi-kami. The matters that have been 
disclosed by these succc ssive generations of kami, beginning with 
Ama-i eras u-o-mi- kami, constitute the principal part of Shinto."" 

" This Shinto, already in the ancient period, exercised an 
important influence, in harmony with the intellectual, emotional, 
and practical necessities of the time. Thus, as revealed in every- 

1. Motoorl Norinaga no Tetsugakti, p. 57. 

2. Ibid., pp. 57-58. 

3. Shinto Hongi, p. 1 45. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 8 1 

day affairs prior to the introduction of Confucianism, which has 
exercised such a great influence on the moral life of our people, 
Shinto constituted our national ethical system. Also, prior to 
the introduction of Buddhism which has exerted such power in 
the religious world of Japan, Shinto was the religion that gave 
calmness and tranquility to our people. Furthermore, in the 
Imperial Rescript of the third day of the first month of the third 
year of Meiji, it is written, ' The Heavenly Deities and Sacred 
Ancestors ascended the Imperial Throne and founded the Im- 
perial Line. Sacred Emperors reigned in succession, continuing 
and extending the lineage. Religion and government were 
unseparated and the people were all united in a single heart. 
Above, government and education were excellent, and below, 
manners and customs were beautiful.' According to this, 
from most ancient time on, government and religion have 
been one, and prior to the introduction of Chinese political philo- 
sophy, Shinto was the way of political affairs. In addition 
Shinto had its influence on every aspect of the practical life of 
our people. Thus it is, that in just such manner as we Japanese 
have received our bodies, even to our hair and our skin, from 
our divine ancestors, handed down uncorrupted from father to 
son, so also, the fundamental things of Shinto are eternal, handed 
down from generation to generation." 1 

On the basis of his analysis of the Japanese spirit Tanaka is 
led to affirm a fundamental difference between the Japanese and 
other races. ' ' In the matter of basic conceptions there is a 
difference between the people of our nation and foreigners." 2 
This fundamental difference manifests itself primarily in the atti- 
tude toward the state. In the foreign point of view the state is 
ultimately subordinated to individualism. 3 The Japanese spirit 
on the other hand, characteristically expresses itself in the com- 
plete abandonment of individualism to the support of a state life 

1. Motoori Norinctga no Tetsugaku,-pp. 58-60. 

2. Shinto Hongi, p. 140. 

3. lb:d. } p. 139. 



82 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

organized around the principle of imperial sovereignty. This 
fact has given extraordinary stability to Japanese political institu- 
tions. There has been going on in the past a fierce struggle for 
existence among the nations of the earth. It is to be noted that 
not one of the great European nations of the remote past has 
survived into the present. 1 Japan alone of the modern nations 
of the world has an unbroken existence extending back to the 
dawn of history. How does it happen that throughout a history 
of three thousand years Japan has never lost territory to foreign 
aggression and has preserved intact the integrity of her empire ? 
The author answers, " In solution of this problem I maintain that 
this in a word is due to the fact of the existence from ancient 
times of the unique Great Way of our nation." 2 The historical 
result is that the Japanese Empire " possesses a national organiza- 
tion {kokutai) without parallel in the world." 3 

The military value of this apologetic is not lost ■ sight of by 
Prof. Tanaka. He attempts to maintain that the military suc- 
cesses of Japan can only be fully explained by reference to the 
fundamental qualities of this unique Japanese spirit. 4 He admits 
that in external, physical characteristics the Japanese must be 
classified along with other human beings. The significant differ- 
ences, however, are in the spiritual realm. " If Japanese and 
foreigners are the same, how does it happen that in the two great 
wars of recent times, namely in the Sino-Japanese and the Russo- 
Japanese wars, countries great in population, wide in area, rich 
in wealth, superior in military equipment, and great in number 
of soldiers — how does it happen that such a China and such a 
Russia went down before a Japan, limited in population, small 
in area, deficient in soldiers (from a numerical standpoint) and 
lacking in wealth ? " The author's answer is, " The result is due 
to the fact that over and above these matters of military equip- 

i. Ibid., pp., n8ff. 

2. Ibid., p. 121. 

3. Ibid., p. 112. 

4. Ibid , pp. 146 ff. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 83 

ment, numbers of soldiers, population, and area, there exists a 
unique and special something with which these things cannot be 
compared. That is to say, in as much as there prevails among 
the people of our nation our characteristic Great Way, in a 
word, because there exists a Great Way unmatched in all the 
world, this result has come forth. In the face of this, the strong- 
est country in the world must shrink back." 1 

Shinto is thus in its last analysis simply the historical mani- 
festation of the unique Japanese Spirit. Shinto as the Great 
Way of Yamato Damashii underlies Japanese religion, ethics 
politics, and education. As already pointed out, this interpreta" 
tion harmonizes easily with the official declaration that Shinto is 
not a religion, although Prof. Tanaka, himself, would go much 
farther than the government in admitting genuine religious ele- 

I. Ibid., pp. 148-9. Written before the World. War. Dr. G. Kat5, writing 
subsequent to the World War, has presented Yamato Damashii as having at its heart 
the unique patriotism of the Japanese. ( JVaga Kohttai to Shinto, p. 221). Walter 
Dening wrote in 1910, " The language used by certain Japanese writers claims for 
them the possession of certain mysterious hidden merits not found in other nations. 
Their regard for the Emperor, for instance, is represented as far superior to the feeling 
which Englishmen have for their King. Baron Kikuchi, Dr. Kato [Hiroyuki], even 
Mr. Sawayanagi, and many other writers use language that is capable of no other 
interpretation. Baron Kikuchi tells Englishmen and Americans they have not the 
eyes to see this. It is one of those mysteries that only Japanese can understand. 
On their regard for the Emperor is based all that is best in Japanese human nature, 
according to Dr. Kikuchi. He and many others assume that their attitude to the 
throne places Japanese high above all nations and that the patriotism displayed 
by the Japanese has its sources in the respect they feel for the Emperor. It may 
be so, but it would certainly be true to say that equally ardent patriotism is to be 
seen in numerous other countries whose constitution is radically different from 
that of Japan. 1 ' (Art. "Reason and Sentiment in this Country," Japan Mail. 
See Japan Evangelist, 1910, p. 254% The same writer says, "It has been a self- 
imposed duty of mine to study the ethical and religious thought and to analyze 
the moral character of the Japanese for three decades, and the conclusion I have 
reached is, that while in fine moral qualities the best Japanese are not behind the 
best Occidentals, neither are they ahead of them. Equality is all the most 
thoughtful and best informed Japanese claim, not superiority. If Japan has evolved 
ethical and religious thought that is quite new to the Western world, where in 
the whole range of Japanese literature is it to be found ? " {Op. cit., p. 253). 



84 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

ments in Shinto. The success which has met the widespread 
propagation of this interpretation may be seen in the common 
experience of finding it repeated constantly as the typical school- 
boy interpretation of Shinto, — i.e. the essence of Shinto is in 
Yamato Damashii', its creed is in the Imperial Rescript on 
Education. 

It is not possible within the limits of the present discussion 
to enter upon the detailed study of Japanese racial psychology 
which would be involved in the proper investigation of Yamato 
Damashii, the Soul of Japan. 1 Present consideration must be 
limited to representative statements by Japanese apologists who 
are avowedly speaking from the point of view of the exposition 
of Shinto. 

In the exposition given by Mr. Kono Shozo, one of the 
professors of the Koku Gakuin Dai Gaku, the Shinto College in 
Tokyo, and at the same time one of the most recent writers on 
the subject, Shinto is likewise expounded as a nationalistic-ethical 
system wherein Japanese racial psychology finds its most char- 
acteristic expression. Although Prof. Kono's discussion involves 
the recognition of religious elements in Shinto, it is nevertheless 
predominantly ethical. Shinto is defined as " the moral system 
of the Japanese people which has developed on a foundation of 
the idea of reverence from a center in the Great Deity, Ama- 
terasu-o-mi-kami" 2 Further definition says, " Shinto is that 
practical, nationalistic, or better, imperialistic morality which 
has for its central life the spirit of sincerity and which from 
ancient times has been the constant spiritual power and dynamic 
of the Yamato race." 3 

The first mentioned Japanese characteristic found in Shinto 

1. See La Vieuville, G., Essai de Psychologie Japonaise, La Race des Dienx, 
Paris, 1908; Dening, Walter, "Mental Characteristics of the Japanese," T. A. S. 
J., Vol. 19, Pt. 1 ; Gulick, S. L., The Evolution of the Japanese, Social and PsyJi'c, 
New York, 1903 ; Murdoch, James, A History of Japan, Vol. 1, pp. 5-16. 

2. Kokwnin Dotoku Shiron, p. 220. 

3. Ibid , p. 228. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 85 

is reverence for the Imperial Family, regarding which the author 
says, " The sentiment of reverence for an Imperial Line unbroken 
from time immemorial, whereby ruler and subjects are made one 
and by means of which the national life is protected, constitutes 
the life of Shinto and is the source of the happiness of the 
Japanese nation." 1 Other characteristics are listed as, a strong 
and ardent love of country, ancestor worship, hero worship, faith 
in the grace of Heaven and the aid of the gods, an emphasis on the 
activities of the present world, a regard for cleanliness (including 
the idea of religious purification), and an emphasis on etiquette. 2 

The writings and public addresses of Marquis Okuma may 
be taken as a semi-official exposition of the views of this school 
of Shinto. In his treatment the special characteristics of the 
Japanese race are regarded as always tending toward the creation 
and maintenance of a certain form of political and social life, 
namely, a hierarchy in which the members of the ruling classes 
as well as public benefactors of various grades are regarded as 
" deity." These deities, however, are not to be considered as 
akin to the superhuman gods of ordinary religions. On the 
contrary, the kami (" deities ") of the Shinto cult are true 
Japanese ancestors, particularly those ancestors connected with 
the governmental regime. This characterization is applied even 
to the supposedly mythological sections of early Japanese tradi- 
tion. Thus, the genealogy of the most ancient kami appearing 
in the Kojiki and the Nihongi must be taken as affording lists of 
the names of actual ancestral rulers of old Japan. 3 

The extent to which Okuma is willing to go in utilizing 
Japanese mythology in developing his theory of the state may be 
gathered from the following quotation. " The former [the 
Kojiki] in its description of the first kami opens thus : ' The 
kami who, in the beginning of heaven and earth, created them- 
selves in the High Heavenly Plain (Takama-ga-Hara), were 

1. Ibid., p. 229. 

2. Ibid., pp. 228-234. 

3. Cf.t Okuma, Fifty Years of A T ew Japan, Vol. I, pp. i-io, 19-20. 



86 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

three, A me-no-mi-naka-nushi-no-kami, Taka-mi-musubi-no-kami, 
and Kami-musubi-no-kamu' The sentence might by some be 
given a religious interpretation, namely, that the deity Ame-no- 
mi-naka-nushi (meaning ' master of the center of heaven ') was 
the ruler of the universe, and the deities Musubi (supposed by 
some to mean ' to produce ') were the creators, but in fact these 
kami were entirely different from the superhuman gods of religion. 
The three laid the foundations of the Great Eight Islands, or the 
Japanese Archipelago, and their children intermarried and pros- 
pered. The descendants of the first named, who were charged 
to govern the newly created country, were the lineal descend- 
ants of the kami, or according to the strict meaning of the 
ideographs, the ' sons of the celestial kami' The other two 
Musubi are sometimes called the mi-oya-no-kami, or ancestral 
kami and represent the maternal side of the family of the kami. 
Their descendants increased to the number of yao-yorozu-no- 
kami (literally ' eighty myriad kami, but really ( multitudinous 
kami ') who ' assembled in divine discussions.' Thus was begun 
a system of government by a council of elders before the throne. 
The families of the Shin-betsu, that is, branches of the kami — 
the Fujiwara for instance, which during many centuries were the 
most powerful of the nobility — were for the most part descend- 
ants of these kami. Hence it follows that the Japanese concep- 
tion of the deities — if that term be properly applicable — does 
not, as is the case with the supreme beings of religions in general, 
involve the idea of obedience imposed by external authority, lor 
instead of rites of sacrifice and prayer, whereby the devotees of 
other cults invoke blessings for themselves, the Japanese offer to 
their ancestors in thanksgiving the first fruits of the harvest, the 
members of each family assembling in their invisible presence 
and joyfully commemorating their own callings in life." 1 

It is to be anticipated then that Okuma will not support a 
strictly religious interpretation of the shrines. In an article 
written by him for the Meiji Jinja Skiryo, " Guide to the Meiji 
I. Op. cit., pp. 3, 4. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 87 

Shrines/' 1 he argues that the chief value of the shrines lies in the 
fact that they are an institution coterminous with Japanese his- 
torical development itself and as such expressive of the deepest 
and most characteristic sentiments of the Japanese race. The 
proper spiritual attitude of the devotee at the Shinto shrines is 
not that of religious worship in the ordinary sense ; it is, on the 
other hand, keishin, namely, reverence. Thus Okuma is led to 
oppose the traditional or religious usage of the shrines in the 
following words, " To attempt by means of prayers to drive 
away sickness or to pray for prosperity and happiness, is mere 
superstition and is a violation of the nature of reverence. Rev-: 
erence is not a kind of religious faith {Keishin to wa hitotsu no 
shukyo jo no shinko de nakii). Buddhists and Christians alike, in 
as much as they are Japanese, ought to conform to this and, 
indeed, the matter is of such a nature that they can conform." 2 

After passing in brief review, the manner in which this 
spirit of reverence expresses itself in Japanese society, Okuma 
summarizes thus: "The Japanese idea of reverence is in this 
wise an exceedingly simple matter. To advance and extend the 
ideas of loyalty and filial piety toward Emperor and parents, to 
manifest a spirit of thanksgiving toward the spirits of the great 
men of the nation, both the ancestors of the common people and 
those of the Imperial Family, and for all time to look up to their 
high virtues — keishin is nothing other than this. Such being 
the case, keishin includes the ideas of loyalty and filial piety." 3 

Miyao and Inamura, in their valuable study of the shrines 4 
likewise affirm emphatically that the shrines are not religious 
institutions. A single quotation will suffice to indicate the point 
of view of these authors. " There are scholars who interpret 
the shrines as places of religious worship. There are also those 
who argue that since the shrines are historical survivals relating 

I- WnW$ Sfcfl'ft* (3 Vols., Tokyo, I9!5)> Vol- i, Introduction. 

2. Op. cit., p. 2. 

3. Ibid., p. 7. 

4. Jinja Gyoseiho Kogi, Tokyo, I9II. 



88 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

to ancestralism, if ancestralism is to be classified as a form of 
. religion, it consequently becomes impossible to place the shrines 
outside of religion. Whether or not they are religious when 
regarded from a philosophical position is beside the question. 
Here, in a word, let it be said, that under existing laws of the 
state the shrines are by no means religious institutions." 1 .... 
" Again, they [the shrines] are not places where religious activi- 
ties are carried on. They must be classified as altogether outside 
jof religion." 2 

Dr. Haga Yaeichi, one of the most representative of the 
modern Japanese nationalists, repeats the same argument with 
even greater emphasis in Kokumin Sei Juron, " Ten Lectures on 
National Characteristics." 3 The form of Shinto that expresses 
itself in the shrines is declared to be " a matter altogether distinct 
from religion " " It has no relation whatever to the problem of 
the freedom of religious faith." 4 The author compares the 
shrines with the memorial statues found in Europe and America 
and maintains thsi the related sentiments are the same in both 
cases. In comparison with statues he remarks, " The shrines of 
our country are, after all, the same thing. Foreigners erect 
statues, we celebrate at the shrines, this is the only difference. 
It is inconsistent to say that, while one may pay respect before 
bronze statues he may not visit and pay reverence at the shrines. 
No one can reasonably say that while it is fitting to pay 
respect at the graves of relatives and friends, it is, on the other 
hand, beneath one's dignity or a violation of one's faith to visit 
and pay homage at the shrines of illustrious men. The difficulty 
arises from a misunderstanding of the word kami and a confusion 
with religion. In our National Constitution religious freedom is 
liberally permitted. Subjects of the state, without regard to 
religious connections, are permitted to do homage at the Ances- 

i. Op cit., p. 53, 
2. Ibid., p. 57. 



3- HKt3rHi&, Tokyo, 1914. 

4 Oj>. cit., p. 40. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 89 

tral Sanctuary of the Imperial Palace, and in case of death on 
behalf of the public weal are collectively commemorated at the 
Yasnkiini Shrine. This is proof that the shrines are not related 
to religion." 1 

We have next to consider the religious application of the 
nationalistic-ethical interpretation. In the eyes of certain Japan- 
ese writers, especially those interested in the development of 
genuine religious education, one of the great practical values of 
the purely ethical interpretation of Shinto, when consistently 
applied, is that it is calculated to eliminate all fundamental diffi- 
culties lying between actual religion and the fostering of national 
morality through the medium of Shinto ceremonials. 

We may first note in this connection the exposition of Dr. 
Hiroike Senkuro who writes from the standpoint of an adherent of 
the Shinto sects and in particular of Tenri Kyo. This author 
in his book Jinja Sukei to Shukyo, " Shrine Reverence and 
Religion/' 2 gives the weight of his support to the interpretation 
that, from the standpoint of national law the official Shinto shrines 
are not religious institutions. His entire discussion is based on 
the idea of a two-fold function in the shrines, themselves, namely, 
that arising out of what may be called a popular character which 
is admitted to be genuinely religious, and that relating to an 
official character which is ethical and nationalistic. These two 
functions may be discharged at one and the same shrine and 
even in one and the same ceremony without conflict or inconsis- 
tency. The basis of Dr. Hiroike's distinction, however, may 
hardly be said to lodge in a thorough-going examination of 
either the nature of religion or of the actual ceremonials of the 
shrines. His conclusions rest on an acceptance of legal enact- 
ments as final. In particular he interprets the religious laws of 
1882 and of 1900 to mean that, under existing Japanese law, the 
shrines are not religious institutions. 3 

I. Ibid., pp. 45-46. 

2- Sf itgft > %WL> Tokyo, 1915. 

3. Ibid., p. 42 ff. 



90 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

Hiroike thus explains the official position to mean that the 
shrines are cult centers where reverence and gratitude toward 
ihe great leaders of Japanese history are expressed and stimulat- 
ed. They are not properly places where private supplication is 
offered to the spiritual world. 1 

He admits that there are certain ceremonials conducted at 
the shrines which because of their historical origins may, from a 
certain standpoint, be interpreted as having mingled in them the 
meaning of prayer, and also grants that individuals may approach 
the shrines impelled by the idea of supplicating spiritual powers 
for various temporal benefits. " The mere matter of prayer for 
the future, however, and, again, the practice of distributing 
charms have no relation whatever with so-called religion from 
the standpoint of national law." 2 At the same time Hiroike 
admits that if one regards the matter from an academic or idea- 
listic position, or perhaps from a sociological point of view, there 
is no objection to saying that the activities of the official shrines 
are based on religious notions and that the rituals bear a religious 
meaning. Yet, on the other hand, whatever be the nature of 
the supplications with which the individual approaches the shrine, 
there is no reason why, from the standpoint of law, the shrines 
should be regarded as religious institutions. National law has 
never interfered with the belief of the people in ordinary cases. 
The implication which the author here makes is, that for the 
state to attempt a reformation in individual beliefs and practices 
connected with the shrines would be tantamount to an abridg- 
ment of the religious freedom guaranteed under the Japanese 
Constitution. 

Furthermore, he argues, in case either individuals or groups 
of individuals make entreaties at the shrines for such particular 
benefits as good crops or large hauls of fish, there is nothing in 
conflict with national law if priests in charge conform to the 
meaning of such prayers and, by making use of proper ritual, 

1. Ibid., pp. 47-8. 

2. Ibid,, p. 50. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 9 1 

present the supplications to the deities. The author adds in 
explanation, "The action of the priests in announcing to the 
sacred spirits the wishes and the decisions of faith of village 
people and proteges of tutelary deities is exactly like that of the 
mother who presents to the father the desires and aspirations 
toward the future entertained by a child. No harm is done as 
long as the ceremonies are decorous. Accordingly, it is plain 
that there is no occasion for the government to interfere with the 
form which the announcement assumes." 1 

This direct contact with the people, however, is to be taken 
advantage of by the priest in order to train them in an under- 
standing of the true significance of the shrines. On this point 
Hiroike says, " Since the priest is permitted to give lectures on the 
virtues of the deities, he should labor diligently to exalt these 
virtues and to explain to the parishioners the necessity of reverence 
and respect toward ancestors, and to make clear the great prin- 
ciples of loyalty and filial piety and thus cultivate a moral faith." 2 

The author is led to the conclusion, " The shrines transcend 
all religion and are of such a nature as to require the veneration 
(su/ial) of the nation as a whole. This reverence (sonsu) is an 
important part of the national morality and is not to be adjusted 
according to individual choice. Therefore it is a matter of 
course that according to one's residence in province, city, village 
or hamlet he should be assigned to his appropriate group of 
parishioners. [This of course without regard for other religious 
connection]. In as much, then, as he is a member of the nation 
or a resident of a village or town, it becomes impossible that he 
should be exempt from a tax levied as his proper portion of the 
expense of the shrine to which his worshiping group is related. 
And even though the legal restrictions did not exist at all, one 
who should reject or censure this arrangement would already 
have lost his qualifications as a member of the Japanese nation. 



1. 3ict.,p.$i. 

2. Op. cit. 



92 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

From the standpoint of national morality it would be necessary 
to pronounce him a person with serious defects of character." 1 

A modern Christian apologist, Tanaka Tatsu, has attempted 
an exposition of Shinto from this same standpoint. 2 The prin- 
ciple underlying his harmonization may be formulated thus : 
The conception of deity in true religion and the idea of kami as 
found in pure Shinto are of such radically diverse natures as to 
render any conflict between Shinto and real religion impossible. 

Tanaka attempts, in the first place, to establish the proposi- 
tion, " The Way of the Gods {SJiindo) is equivalent to the Way 
of Men " (Jindo). This statement, although resembling that 
advanced by various modern students of religion, to the effect 
that there is nothing in the god-world that is not first in the 
man-world, is nevertheless, from the standpoint of our Japanese 
author, different, since he recognizes the existence of religious 
values not included in Shinto, as he understands it. Tanaka 
thus develops the further proposition that in pure Shinto the 
so-called deities are nothing more than human beings. In other 
words tije essential nature of Shinto is to be found in a system 
of human ethics, centered in the Japanese state. 3 

In support of his position, Tanaka makes no attempt to sift 
the ancient Japanese literature bearing on his discussion, nor is 
he willing to admit that the actual religious life of the Japanese 
people, as expressed in the various Shinto sects of the present, 
affords any criterion for the determination of the true nature of 
Shinto. On the other hand, he settles the matter by an appeal 
to the authority of certain recognized Japanese scholars, namely 
Kada Azumamaro, Aral Hakuseki, Kamo Mabuchi, Motoori 
Norinaga, Watarae Nobuyoshi, Tanaka Yoshito, and Inonye 
Tetsujiro. By a proper selection of this scholastic evidence 
Tanaka is enabled to conclude that both ancient and modern 

1. Ibid., p. 54. 

2. Tanaka, Tatsu, Shinto Kanken ftg$j§, JjftilfjL " A Birds-eye View 
of Shinto "), Tokyo, 1915. 

3. Op. cit., pp. 1-7. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 93 

scholars are one in maintaining that the deities of Shinto are 
human beings. 

" It is here, I believe," says Tanaka, " that the point of 
reconciliation between Shinto and Christianity is to be found, 
and for the following reason. In the case of both Shinto and 
Christianity we have come to employ the same term for deity, 
namely kamu Although the sound is identical in each case, as 
a matter of fact, there is a fundamental difference. Both Hirata 
and he Teijo have repeatedly complained that it has been the 
source of much confusion to have applied the Chinese ideogram 
for deity 1 to the Japansse word kamu In the same way, I 
consider it regrettable that either the Chinese form or the Japan- 
ese term kami has been used to express the Christian conception 
of Jehovah." 2 

It is important to take note of the ethical qualities which 
Tanaka emphasizes as fundamental in Shinto. Following in the 
lead of Tanaka Yoshito arid Inouye Tetsujiro he reduces Shinto 
ethics to the operation of three primary virtues, wisdom, benevo- 
lence and valor. 3 These are regarded as having been particu- 
larly prominent in the Japanese race from most ancient times 
right down to the present. Through the influence of foreign 
cults, however, notably Confucianism and Buddhism, this pure 
Shinto indigenous to Japan has been modified and corrupted. 
It is not difficult to see in this a reaffirmation of the arguments 
of the Shinto revivalists of the eighteenth and early nineteenth 
centuries. 

Tanaka concludes that if the syncretistic elements introduced 
through contact with foreign religions and also the impurities 
that have survived out of primitivity, — both Japanese and foreign 
— could be eliminated from modern Shinto, then as a conse- 
quence popular Shinto with its supernaturalism and superstition 



Tanaka, Op. cit., p. 7. 
Hikai 



2. Tanaka, Op. at., p. 7. • " 

3. H 1 , il, Mi Tanaka, Op. cit., p. 80^. Cf. Inovftip- Tetsujiro. in Ton no 
rn't Vol. V, No. 7; Vol. 10, No. 8; also Kohunm Dotokn Gabon, p. 138. 



94 TEE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

would probably die. This he believes would be greatly to the 
advantage of pure Shinto. What would be left would be an 
expression of the Japanese spirit which would find the objects of 
ceremonial and devotion altogether within the human realm, that 
is, within the field of Japanese society. " I have no objection/' 
Tanaka adds, " to defining Shinto as that spiritual activity which 
expresses itself in development with Japan as center [after Inouye 
Tetsujiro]. In this sense Shinto cannot be taken as a religion. 
If Shinto is not a religion, then the popular perplexity with 
regard to Shinto is solved and followers of other cults can be- 
lieve in their religions in peace. The main motive of the govern- 
ment in actually dividing Shinto into two parts and attaching 
one part to the Bureau of Shrines and the other to the Bureau of 
Religions is probably to be found here." 1 

That the interpretation which Tanaka makes is strongly 
influenced by Japanese nationalism and yet, at the same time, is' 
religious in its fundamental interest, is apparent without further 
elaboration. 

Dr. Takagi Jintaro, who until his recent death was one of 
the leaders of the Christian movement in Japan, found oppor- 
tunity on the occasion of the dedication of the Meiji Shrine in 
the autumn of 1920 to write, " The relation of the Shinto shrines 
to religion is a matter in which even among scholars there is not 
unanimity of opinion. The government, however, has com- 
pletely separated the shrines from religion. The government, by 
maKing a distinction between Shrine Shinto {Jinja Shinto) and 
Religious Shinto (Shukyo Shinto) has made it plain that the 
shrines are not religious institutions." Dr. Takagi calls attention 
to the shrine laws of 1900 and 19 13 which put Christianity, 
Buddhism, and Shinto sects under the control of the Bureau of 
Religions in the Department of Education while placing the 
shrines in charge of the Bureau of Shrines in the Department of 
Home Affairs and on the basis of this legal distinction says, 



57. Tanaka, Op. cif., pp. 81-2. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 95 

" Thus it is that the shrines are altogether outside of religion. 
To be sure, it cannot be said that at present there is a complete 
elimination of religious elements in the shrines. Such practices 
as the distribution of charms and the making of vows to the 
gods still exist. On the part of multitudes of people the shrines 
are worshipped as the objects of religious faith. This gives basis 
to the arguments that the shrines are religious. But in as much 
as the government classifies them as not religious and is laboring 
to separate them from religion, there is no necessity that we 
should insist that they are religious. We also should put forth 
efforts to separate the shrines as far as possible from all religious 
elements." The majority of the shrines, according to Dr. 
Takagi's view, are dedicated to ancestral kami, that is, to 
emperors, national heroes, and those who have won merit in the 
service of the state. " The shrines have their origin in the idea 
of reverence for ancestors and are not expressive of the religious 
spirit." This interpretation agrees with that of Tanaka Tatsu in 
the view that the great kami of Shinto are men. On the other 
hand, the God of Christianity is the Great Spirit of Life who 
created the worlds and who providentially directs human history. 
He cannot be made the property of a single race or nation. If 
the kami commemorated at the shrines were of such a nature as 
to entitle them to occupy the position of the God of Christianity, 
then Christians would of course be unable to worship them, but 
this is not the case. Since the kami of the shrines are the 
ancestors of the Imperial Family and the spirits of Japanese 
heroes, their nature differs altogether from that of the God of 
Christianity. Dr. Takagi concludes : l< Thus it is that our feel- 
ing in venerating these (the ancestral kami) and our feeling in 
case of worshiping the One God are inherently different. For 
this reason shrine reverence is not a thing that cannot . be 
harmonized with Christian faith." 

The same writer speaks of the newly dedicated Meiji shrine 
as a kitten bntsu, li a memorial institution." He compares the 
shrines with the commemorative statues and buildings of Europe 



q6 the political philosopht OF MODERN SHINTO. 

and America. The real meaning of the shrines is not essentially 
different from that of Westminster Abbey and the Pantheon. 
" To be sure," he says, " the shrines of our country differ in 
form from these memorial institutions, but in inner meaning they 
are similarly related to commemoration and gratitude." 1 

Ebina Danjo and Kozaki Hiromichi may be taken as further 
representatives of this same Christian-Shintd school. Dr. Ebina 
has long advocated that the Christian forces of Japan should 
build on the official determination that the national shrines are 
merely for the promotion of national morality and in no sense 
religious. He significantly says, " Unless we Christians hold fast 
to that distinction we are bound to have trouble." 2 This same 
writer finds it regrettable, however, that there still lingers about 
the shrines the odor of an old religion and fears the results of 
possible compromise with lingering religious ideas and practices. 

Dr. Kozaki likewise finds any difficulties between Chris- 
tianity and official Shinto precluded by the government declara- 
tion of 1882 making the shrines of no connection with religious 
Shinto. " The shrines," he says, u are institutions where those 
who have won merit in the service of the state are commemorat- 
ed and they are altogether without relation to religion." 3 He 
declares that they are " kinen-hi no gotoki mono" objects com- 
parable with monuments." 4 

It would seem fair to state that these Christian writers are 
either consciously or unconsciously interpreting the situation in 
such a way as to gain standing room for Christianity. In secur- 
ing this form of Christian-Shinto apologetic the government 



1. Takagi, Jintaro, Jinja to ShTikyo ni tsuite (©TfcfErJW, /ifljfli b^ifc- 
5$; r, " Concerning Shrines and Religion " , Kyokai Jiho (" The Christian Times," 
• Methodist), Nov. 12, 1920, No. 1524. 

2. Ebina, Danj5, " Stumbling Blocks in the Way of Japanese Inquirers 
and How to Remove Them," Japan Evangelist, Feb., I915, (entire article, pp. 
7S-81), p. 80. 

3. Kozaki, Hiromichi, Kokka to Skukyo (/J>lllf &il, %% l x l^tt " Reli " 
gion and the Nation "), Tokyo, 1913, p. 83. 

4. Op. at., p. 265. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 9/ 

policy has attained some success, at least as far as certain indivi- 
duals are concerned. 1 The shrines here function as the means 
of u centralizing the thought of the people " and at the same time 
religious satisfactions are secured elsewhere. It is very much to 
be doubted, however, if the solution is thus easy, trusting as it 
does in the finality of legal definition and resting on the assump- 
tions that the great deities of official Shinto are merely historical 
ancestors and that the Japanese idea of kami is fundamentally 
different from ordinary supernaturalism. Private opinion in the 
Christian church is far from agreeing unanimously with the solu- 
tions offered by such men as Tanaka, Takagi and Kozaki. The 
resolutions of Christian groups as such have already been stated. 
The Christian-Shinto solution is willing to go even farther 
than the government in advocating a radical reformation in 
u reverence for the shrines," whereby they may be made an 
even stronger support for Japanese national morality. The pro- 
gram advocated involves two primary measures. 

I. The interpretation that official Shinto is not a religion is, likewise, being 
given wide -spread circulation outside of Japan. For example, De Forest, writing 
in 1905, says " Japan now has no state religion." Government subsidy is given 
the shrines, " not because of their religious character, but because they are historic 
monuments worthy of being maintained as silent teachers of the past." ^De 
Forest, Religions of Mission Fields,^. 41). Alfred Stead is of the opinion tha*- 
the completeness with which Japan has succeeded in separating church and state 
constitutes a model for the western world. He says, " Not only is there no State 
Church, but from the national standpoint there is an absolute equality where the 

various religions are concerned To sum up, then, the Western 

World may learn from Japan the dangers of a State Church, the elimination of 
politics from religion, tolerance, and a desire to seek out and help on the best in 
all creeds." (See T. J. S. L., Vol. VII, 1905-6, Ft. II, p. 194). The Japan 
Gazette year-book says, " It is noteworthy that in Japan religion, except in general 
practice, has no connection with politics." {The 'Japan Gazette' Japan I ear Book, 
1913-14^.285). Mr. N. Kato, writing for the Japan Society of London, re- 
marks, " As to the religious teaching in the school, I do not know how the Gov- 
ernment could see the way through to its introduction, as there is no State Religion 
in Japan." (T. J. S. L., Vol. XVI, 1917-18, p. 142}. Hamilton Wright Mabie 
wrote in 1914, " Shinto is no longer a religion ; it is a profound national sentiment. 
It never was a religion properly speaking ; but nature worship was combined with 
it to satisfy the cravings of primitive worshipers." (Japan To-day and To-morrow, 



Q% THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

In the first place, it urges the eradication of certain incon- 
gruous institutions at present connected with " reverence for the 
shrines/' e.g. prostitute quarters in the environs of the shrines, as 
at Ise, Kasama, Tsukuba and elsewhere, also circuses, theatricals 
and moving picture shows established on shrine grounds at the 
time of important festivals. 

The second part of the program is more serious. It urges 
a government educational policy so completely carried out as to 
separate absolutely the shrines from all religion. Children in 
the public schools rather than being taken to visit the shrines, 
should be frankly taught that the " gods " of the shrines are 
mere men and not the proper objects of religious worship. Such 
a vigorous educational policy would necessitate the abandonment 
of all superstitions at present connected with the shrines, as for 
example, the beliefs that a deity or a group of deities actually 
inhabit the shrines, that deities can be moved about from shrine 
to shrine, or that sacrifice and ritual are efficacious in establishing 
favorable relations with the kami. 1 

We may turn next to the consideration of the nationalistic- 
religious interpretation of Shinto, in which modern Shintoists are 
deliberately attempting to appraise the shrines as religious in- 
stitutions. 

p. 27). Mr. K. Watanabe, speaking before the Second International Congress of 
the History of Religions said of Shinto, " Seine moralischen Vorschriften iiben 
noch einen tiefen Einflus auf das sittliche Leben aus. Allein er ist keine 
Religion mehr, sondern nur noch ein Zeremoniell bei festlichen nationalen 

Anlassen Diese Tempel sind bloss Verehrungsdenkmaler fiir die 

bedeutenden Manner, die Japan grosse Dienste geleistet haben. Die Priester 
sind nur Verwaltungsbeamte dieser Tempel." ( Actes du Deuxiemt Congres Inter- 
national dHistoire des Religions, Bale, 1904, pp. 103-4). See also Brinkley, 
Jafan, Described and Illustrated by the Japanese^ ol. II, p. 203; Griffis, W. E., 
7 lie Mikado, Institution and Person, p. 33. 

1. See J. E., 1914 (Aug.), pp. 341 ff. ; Shinjin, July, 1914. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. QQ 



CHAPTER IV. 

Japanese Interpretations of Shinto : 
The Religious Definition. 

The most elaborate attempts that have yet been made by 
any modern Japanese writers to set forth Shinto as a religion are 
undoubtedly those recently undertaken by Dr. Kakehi Katsu- 
hiko 1 of the Law Department of the Imperial University of 
Tokyo and independently by Dr. Kato Genchi, 2 lecturer on 
religion in the same institution and professor in the Military 
College of Tokyo. 

In the treatment accorded the subject by Dr. Kakehi an 
effort is made to expand Shinto into a great, all-inclusive world- 
religion, embracing within itself Buddhism, Confucianism, the 
thirteen Shinto sects, Christianity,, Taoism, and Mohammedan- 
ism. 3 "Shinto," says Kakehi, "is the faith at the basis of all 
religions." " It is the religion of religions." 4 

A perusal of Kakehi's discussion soon reveals the fact, 
however, that deeply interested as he apparently is in religion, 
he is still more interested in politics. The world-wide expansion 
of Shint5 which he contemplates is not the application of a 
generous religious syncretism ; it involves, on the other hand, 
at its very center, an extension of the Japanese political system 
in which special importance is attached to the inculcation of 
respect for the jure divino claims of Japanese sovereignty to- 



i. Kakehi, Katsuhiko, Koshindo Taigi (%'^l^, "fcWMJzWb " Tue Esseu - 
tials of Old Shinto "), Tokyo, 1912 ; Zoku Koshindo Taigi (JtW&WM.%.^> " The 
Essentials of Old Shinto, Continued "), 2 Vols., Tokyo, 1914, 1915. 

2. Kato, Genchi, Waga Kokutai to Shinto, (JtajgsjfcWf fKu^H £ WM., 
"Our National Organization and Shinto "), Tokyo, 1919. 

3. Zoku Koshindo 7aigi, Vol. IT, p. 836. 

4. Ibid. 

5. Ibid. 



IOO THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

gether with reverence for the imperial line as descended from 
the gods. Claims so extraordinary, coming as they do from 
such a source, require further definition. 

In Kakehi's theology, the basis of all life is the Uchu no 
Dai Seimei, " The Great Life of the Universe." " The deep 
and mighty consciousness existing within us is god (kami)." 1 
" God is the unchanging foundation (of all things). If we accept 
his existence, we can explain the universe ; if we deny it we can 
explain nothing." 2 Thus, the idea of God is found necessary to a 
rational explanation of the world ; yet God is to be known and 
met with not simply through the operation of intelligence but 
also through human emotional and volitional experiences. This 
divine force is omnipresent, dwelling in all people and things and 
expressing itself in human life and activity. 3 

All this is ordinary enough as far as the theology is con- 
cerned. Kakehi here stands on ground well worn by the feet 
of other men. This is, however, but the beginning. Kakehi's 
interest lies in the direction of equating this monistic theology 
with the contents of a portion of the most ancient Japanese 
mythology, thereby making possible the transition from the 
modern situation to old Shinto. This transition is accomplished 
by declaring that the first deity mentioned in the Kojiki, namely, 
Ame-no-mi-naka-niishi-no-kami (" The Deity August Lord of the 
Center of Heaven ") is identical with the Great Life of the 
Universe. 4 Thus, at the very beginning of Japanese history, the 
great spirit which Kakehi makes central in his modern world 
view was known, named and worshipped by the Japanese people. 

Kakehi forthwith proceeds to take up the discussion of the 
system of the hand {kami-gami no keito), that is, their relation- 
ships and functions, and develops more specifically the nature 



1. Ibid., Vol. I, p. 470. 

2. Ibid., p. 471. 

3. Bid., pp. 469-472- 

4. Ibid, pp. 474 ff. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. IOI 

of Ame-no-mi-naka-niishi-no-kami} We may note the main 
paints. 

i. This deity exists both in and above the empirical uni- 
verse. 2 He is both immanent and transcendent. He surrounds 
the visible world and partakes of its nature just as an outer* 
enveloping circle or sphere includes but transcends a smaller 
concentric one. 3 Thus dwelling above the phenomenal universe 
of human experience, he is yet a most intimate and inseparable 
part thereof. He possesses the attributes of doji-ddsho? " same- 
time-same-place, " yet, although existing in all times and in all 
places, he is nevertheless superior to temporal and spatial 
limitations. 

2. The designation, naka (" center " or " middle ") in the 
title of this deity, is not to be taken as indicating localization in a 
central place in heaven (Ama), thought of as part of the existing 
universe. Centrality is referable to him not in a physical spatial 
sense, but in the sense that all depends on him. 5 

3. He is both sosetsu and hisosetsii? that is, with reference 
to the phenomenal world, he is both creator and the thing 
created. In the work of creation he exhibits both an active and 
a passive function. " Life," says the author, u is not simply a 
force that creates, but is likewise something that is created." 7 
From this standpoint Kakehi criticises the traditional Christian 
idea of God as incomplete, since God is therein presented merely 
as creator and not as also created object. 

4. He is fiishd-fumetsn-fuzo-fuhen? u without beginning, 
without end, without increase, without decrease." He is the 
unaltering basis and background of flux in the phenomenal 



I. 


Ibid. 


2. 


Ibid., pp. 476-8. 


3- 


After Hegel. 


4- 


fii»JH|F ^ifj\- Cf. Zoku Koshindb Taigi, Vol. I, p. 480. 


5- 


Ibid., pp. 479-80. 


6. 


immm- cf- op- at, P . 4 8 3 . 


7- 


ibid. 


8. 


*£*&*it*$- Cf.op.ciL 



102 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

world, transcending all change. Kakehi admits that at this 
point his terminology is borrowed from Buddhism. One can 
press his indebtedness even farther. He borrows from Buddhism 
not only his words but his ideas also. 

This general philosophical background is thoroughly essen- 
tial to Kakehi's entire politico-religious construction. In other 
words, the idea of a static absolute is vital to his system in order 
that he may secure an absolute guarantee for the finality of 
certain institutions of state in which he is interested. It is 
altogether appropriate and expected, then, that the closing 
words of his entire lengthy discussion should be an appendix 
the chief burden of which is the fixed nature of ultimate reality. 
" Reality is a static thing {fudo) that expresses itself by means 
of motion ; and, again, it is dynamic force expressing a static 
reality." 1 

This Absolute has its unique and full revelation in the 
Japanese race. The expression of the Great Life of the Universe 
found in early Japanese history is ancient Shinto. That is to 
say, early Shinto involved a conception of the existence of a 
great, all-inclusive spirit, manifested in the life of each individual 
human being. What is found in the old religion, we are told, 
" is not a philosophy, is not a theory ; it is the spirit itself ; nay, 
it is the Great Life itself." 2 This gives Kakehi a basis for declar- 
ing that Shinto is so great, so comprehensive as to include all 
religions. Buddha, Confucius, Lao Tse, and Jesus Christ were 
all missionaries of Shinto. 3 In such a way as this, although 
Christianity is regarded as imperfect, it is not opposed as antago- 
nistic to the Japanese national constitution (kokutai). Christian 
missionaries and " people at large " are accused of holding the 
opinion that such antagonism exists, but Kakehi declares that it 
is an idea that cannot persist. On the other hand, he says, 
" It is by all means necessary to appreciate the essence of the 

1. Op. cit., Vol. II, Appendix, following p. 1118. 

2. Ibid., Vol. I, p. 463. 

3. Ibid., pp. 464-5. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. IO3 

spirit of Jesus, himself, and to save and develop this by means 
of the Great Spirit of Shinto." 1 

Kakehi finds support for his claims concerning the com- 
prehensiveness of Shinto in the fact that it constituted the 
foundation of the entire cultural life of ancient times. 2 In the 
functioning of old Shinto, political and religious spheres were not 
distinguished. The Great Spirit of Shinto embraced and con- 
trolled all human activities. " This," we are told, " constitutes 
the uniqueness and nobility of the Japanese national consti- 
tution." 3 

The fallacy in Kakehi's position at this particular point is 
immediately evident to any one at all familiar with the outlines 
of primitive religion. That which Kakehi selects as a unique 
factor is in reality the very point at which ancient Shinto clearly 
indicates the extent to which it is to be equated, in general type, 
with primitive religion everywhere. That which here is the 
" nobility " of earliest Japanese culture, is likewise " nobility " 
in other fields. One of the outstanding marks of primitivity is 
undifferentiation in the political and religious life of the group. 
All activities, law, ethics, politics and religion were mingled in a 
general mass and a religious interest penetrated all. 4 

Criticism of Dr. Kakehi's identification of Uchu-no-Dai- 
Seimei and Aine-no-mi-naka-nushi-no-kami can best be conducted 
by an examination of the source material on which the conclu- 
sions are supposed to rest. This material is to be found at the 
very beginning of the mythological section of the Kojiki. The 
portion of the text under consideration, as translated by Cham- 
berlain, reads : 

" The names of the deities that were born in the Plain of 
High Heaven when the Heaven and Earth began were the 

1. Ibid., Vol. II, p. 553. 

2. Ibid , Vol. I, pp. 466-9. 

3. Ibid., p. 467. 

4. Cf. Irving King, The Development cf Religion (New York, 1910), pp. 
89-91. 



104 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

Deity Master-of-the-August-Center-of-Heaven, next the High- 
August-Producing- Wondrous-Deity, next the Divine-Producing- 
Wondrous-Deity. These three deities were all deities born 
alone, and hid their persons." 1 

All this is remarkable enough. Others besides Kakehi 
have found in it occasion for maintaining that traces of primitive 
monotheism, expressed in a trinitarian formula, can be discerned 
in the most ancient Japanese records. 2 At first glance the old 
mythology may appear to confirm the contention of Kakehi. 
But when we remember that the passage given above is all 
that the Kojiki has to say about Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi-no-kami, 
we perceive immediately how frail is the foundation upon which 
he has constructed his theology. While it is true that both the 
second and the third deities of this triad reappear later in the 
mythology, the very one selected by him for his great equation, 
after this bare mention, vanishes completely from the Kojiki, 
The Nihongiy except for one variant, omits this deity altoge- 
ther. Not only so, but the Rituals give no indication whatever 
of this deity having occupied even a humble place in the cere- 
monial of old Japan. While it is true that modem popular 
usage has given this god a place among the deities of the 
shrines, 3 yet we must conclude that the exaggerated importance 
assigned him by Dr. Kakehi rests on a subjective and unhistori- 
cal use ot the sources. Idealistic monism, centering in Ame-nc- 

i. Cf. C, p. 15. The Japanese titles of these deities, given in the order of 
the text, are Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi-no-kami, Taka-mi-musubi-no-kami and Kami- 
miisubi-no-kami. 

2. Cf. Kato, Genchi, " Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi-no-kami" T. A. S. J., Vol. 
XXXVI, Pt. I, pp. 141-162. Kat5 attempts to show that the study of this deity, 
in the light of the modern science of religion, reveals traces of primitive mono- 
theism. The extent to which he makes use of the argument from silence, as well 
as the argument that the study of comparative religion favors his hypothesis, 
necessitates the acceptance of his conclusions only with radical qualifications. 

3. Cf. Ojima, Saneharu, Tettei sezaru Jihja Ron (%%%fo flStl&t£ $*<& 
W%Jm.i " Unconvincing Arguments Regarding Shrines "), Shinjin, Vol. 17, 1916 
(May), pp. 77-78. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 105 

mi-naka-nushi-no-kami, is not in the original record. Kakehi gets 
it from modern philosophy, not from the Kojiki. 

In his scheme Kakehi thoroughly provides, however, for 
the worship at local shrines of this " Great Life of the Universe," 
thus included in the ancient Shinto pantheon. This he accom- 
plishes by arbitrarily introducing into*the original trinity the 
great sun-goddess, Ama-terasuo-mi-kami} The two ''produc- 
ing " deities, Taka-mi-musubi-no-kami and Kami-musubi-no-kami 
are declared to be but one in essence — a two-fold expres- 
sion of but one " producing god," musubi-uo-kami. 2 Then we 
are told that Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami is identical with Mi-musubi- 
no-kami. % The trinity is now complete. What we may term 
the first person thereof is Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi-no-kami, which, 
in Kakehi's scheme, means simply another name for the Great 
Life of the Universe, U chu-no-Dai-Seimei. The second person 
is Mi-musubi-no-kami, a title that is used " when we consider 
deity from the standpoint of competency to function in activity.' 4 
The third person is Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami y " The Heaven-Shin- 
ing-Great-August-Deity." This last named kami, Kakehi de- 
clares, is the visible historical incarnation of the second. Thus by 
virtue of the equation inside the trinity, that exists between Ame- 
no-mi-naka-nushi-no-kami and Mi-musubi-no-kami y the cult activi- 
ties that center in the sun-goddess, " Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami ', are 
carried over to the invisible Great Spirit of the Universe. " If 
one wishes to worship Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi-no-kami one must 
worship Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami, and by worshipping the latter 
we worship the former." 5 Kakehi even inserts in this connec- 
tion a parenthetical reference to a tradition that formerly there 
existed a belief that Ame-no-mi-naka-nusJii-no-kami was enshrined 
in the great Gegu, or Outer Shrine at Ise. This is mere 



1. Zdkii Koshhidb Taigi, Vol. I, pp. 489 ff. 

2. Ibid., pp. 487-8. 

3 Ibid,, p- 489. 

4 Ibid., p 487. 
5. Ibid., p. 490. 



lo6 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

supposition. The central deity of the ceremonial and belief 
at Gegu is Joyo-uke-bime-no-kami, the ancient Japanese food 
goddess. 1 

It is to be granted that Japanese mythology in places 
closely relates the activities of Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami and Taka- 
mi-musuli-no-kami. It is impossible to do justice to the ancient 
records, however, and fail to see that these two kami, although 
frequently represented as acting in concert are not philosophized 
and presented as though one were the incarnation of the other. 
One does not dwell as an unseen deity " above " and the other 
down below as the earthly embodiment thereof. Both live in 
Takama-ga-Hara (" Heaven ") and, although functioning as 
partners in various activities, they are no more closely related 
than certain other deities in the extensive Japanese pantheon, e.g. 
Izanagi and Izanami. The best corrective to be applied to 
Kakehi's reasoning here, is the simple statement of the Kojiki that 
Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami was born from the left eye of Izanagi, 
" The- Male- Who- Invites," as he purified himself in a river on 
the island of Tsukushi. 2 This is undoubtedly the original 
mythology. 

Dr. Kakehi's entire theological construction leads up to an 
interpretation of the person of the Japanese Emperor. 3 The 
Emperors of Japan, reaching in one long, unbroken line back to 
the very beginning of life as expressed in the Japanese race' 
constitute the temporal extension of Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami, 
This deity was the great ancestress of the Japanese sovereigns. 
She willed to send her grandson, Ninigi-no-mikoto y into the 
" Central Land of Reed Plains " [Japan] to dwell therein and 
rule over it. 4 In such a way imperial rights of dominion over 
the Japanese islands rest on the unalterable command of deity. 
Behind the sovereign rights of the Japanese imperial line, lies an 

i. Cf. T. A. S. J., Vol. II, pp 99-121. 

2. C, p. 42. 

3. Zoku Koshindo Taig\ Vol. I, pp. 499-501, Vol. II, pp, 1112 ff. 
4.. Cf. C, pp. 106-111. 



tUe Political phjLosophy of modern shinto. 107 

explicit revelation of the will of the Absolute made through the 
command of Ama-terasu-o-mi-kamu All the Japanese Emperors, 
from Jimmu Tenno right down to the reigning sovereign main- 
tain an actual flesh and blood connection with this great deity. 
They continue her attributes ; they express the original intent 
of god. The Emperor is thus connected in an unbroken 
genealogical line not with Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami, merely, but 
with the Great Life of the Universe, itself. 1 

The Emperor of Japan thus becomes the personal continua- 
tion in time of conceptions and institutions that were begun in 
heaven {Takama-ga-Hara)?' Kakehi says, " His person [the 
Emperor's] constitutes the central point at which these things 
are realized here below. Therefore, the Emperor is god reveal- 
ed in man. He is Maniiest Deity (Aki-tsu-mi-kamif .... 
Above all things else, we must so serve as to increase the divine 
radiance of the Emperor. Ever worshiping His excessive 
light, we must determine to extend and exalt the divine essence 
which we, ourselves, possess. This is not merely a hope, 
but already in the present we are realizing it in spite of all 
difficulties." 4 

Again he says, " The Emperors of our country are persons 
equipped with qualities without parallel in the world ; they are 
both the centers of (religious) faith and of temporal power." 6 
The following also should be noted. " All the fine relations 
existing between the Emperor, who is Manifest Deity, and the 
beneficent personages of heaven, all the mutual relations of men 
from morality, politics, and law, to manners and customs — 
whatever they may be, great or small — all are manifestations of 
the life of deity. But these things have no existence if separated 
from an effort which causes the light of the Emperor to shine 

1 . Zoku Koshindo Taigl, Vol. pp. 489 ff. 

2. Ibid., Vol. II, p. 1 1 14. 

• 3- MW- 

4. Zoku Koshindo 7'aigi, Vol. II, pp. 11 14-1 115. 

5. lb id., Vol. I, p. 500. 



IDS THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

more and more and which while revering that august light, 
constantly glorifies it." 1 

Finally — " The center of this phenomenal world is the 
Mikado's Land 2 [Mi-kiini, i.e. Japan]. From this center we 
must expand this Great Spirit throughout the world." 3 Kakehi 
declares with enthusiasm, " There are voices which cry, ' Great 
Japan is the Land of the Gods.' Nor is this to be wondered at. 
It is a true statement of fact. It is a matter of course. The 
expansion of Great Japan throughout the world and the elevation 
of the entire world into the Land of the Gods is the urgent 
business of the present and, again, it is our eternal and unchang- 
ing object." 4 

The method of this expansion Kakehi does not altogether 
make plain. His emphasis on the fundamental importance of 
faith and a disposition of sincerity would lead one to expect that 
the extension throughout the world is to be accomplished by 
the joint appeal of high ideals and consistent thinking. In this 
connection Professor Kakehi has attempted to forecast the future 
of Shinto by measuring it alongside of the characteristics that 
must be possessed by the true religion of the future. 5 He says 
that the religion of the future must be purged oi all superstitions 
and useless forms. It must be of such a nature as to furnish the 
foundation of all social life. It must possess elasticity, that is 
to say, the essential matters in both ceremony and doctrine must 
be presented in such forms as to be readily intelligible to all men 
everywhere and yet there must be such profundity and bound- 
lessness as to introduce harmony and peace into the confusion 
of human thought and practice. Similarly, it must be of such 
comprehensiveness as to make room for all the important faiths of 
man. Kakehi's idea of Shinto as constituting an original Japanese 

I. Ibid , Vol. II, Appendix, following p. 1118. 

2. mm- 

3. Zoku Koshindo Taigi, Vol. II, p. 1114, 

4. Koshindo Taigi, p. 237. 

5. Zoku Koshindo Taigi, Vol. II, pp. 845-853. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. IO9 

expression of idealistic monism makes it possible for him to 
declare that Shinto meets these conditions of a world religion for 
the future. Kakehi admits that popular Shinto needs to get rid 
of certain nonessential superstitions and useless forms, but this 
process of expurgation does n**t involve essentials. He feels 
that the capacity of Shinto to become the foundation of all social 
life is evidenced by the directive function which it exercised in 
the total life of old Japan. Its elasticity and comprehensiveness 
are witnessed by the fact that the great religious teachers of the 
world have simply expressed the essentials of Shinto, as also by 
the fact that in actual Japanese history the fate of Confucianism 
and Buddhism has been that they have been gradually transfused 
by the Japanese spirit, Shintoized, as it were. The same thing 
must be expected regarding the future of Christianity in Japan. 
Kakehi feels that Japan furnishes the center from which the 
development of the religion of the future must work itself out 
under the formative influence of Shinto, for here in Japan all the 
great religions of the world are meeting as nowhere else on 
earth and are inevitably tending toward some sort of mutual 
adjustment. Kakehi's observations present material worthy of 
most serious reflection. Yet if this were all that is involved in 
his teaching, the future of his system, in spite of its Japanese 
complexion, would simply be that of idealistic monism. But, 
like Hegel, Kakehi writes v/ith one eye on the Absolute and 
the other on the imperial institutions of the Fatherland. The 
extent to which Kakehi goes in merging his religious program 
with the Japanese political system, makes the future of Shinto 
identical, not with that of idealism, but with Japanese imperialism. 
Nationalism is here built into a religious cult that seeks to find its 
sanctions in the unalterable nature of the Absolute. Further, the 
feeling of obligation to extend the system throughout the world 
takes on the form of an intense religious fervor. The extension of 
such a system among intelligent men can only be accomplished 
by the establishing of external control over human thought and 
action. This necessarily involves the use of the military arm of 



1IO THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

government. That Kakehi's politico-religious structure rests to 
no small extent on a military basis is to be seen in his theory of 
the relation of soldiers and Emperor. In a word, the former is 
a function of the latter. " Military men discharge their functions 
through the power of the Emperor .... and in truth, are 
an extension of the existence of the Emperor." 1 In view of 
Kakehi's theory of sovereignty this seems to be open to but one 
interpretation, namely, that what the military arm of the govern- 
ment does under imperial control has back of it the sanction of 
an absolute divine initiative. 

Throughout his discussion Kakehi's object seems to be 
twofold : 

(i). To strengthen the Japanese national spirit by supplying 
a religious foundation for a confidence of superiority as a chosen 
people. 

(2). To utilize the popular belief in Shint5 as the basis of a 
political apology for Tenno Shaken Setsu (" Theory of Imperial 
Sovereignty ") with a world-wide application. By interpreting 
the Japanese Imperial power as the temporal extension of the 
Absolute, the former is invested with aspects of inviolability and 
eternity that guarantee unchanging perpetuity in human history. 

Dr. Kato's presentation of the philosophical or theo- 
logical basis of the Japanese state, while less elaborate 
than that of Dr. Kakehi, is on the other hand, much more 
systematic and objective. 2 The effort is made to support the 
discussion with a wealth of citations from Japanese sources 
together with abundant references to contemporary literature. 
On the whole the treatment may be taken as the most authorita- 
tive exposition of the religious nature of modern official Shinto 
that has yet appeared. The author attempts to build up his 



1. Ii>>'d., Vol. I, p. 670; cf. also ihid. } pp. 670-674. 

2. A valuable study of Dr. Kato's exposition of modern Shinto will be 
found in Pieters, Albertus, " Emperor Worship in Japan," International Review of 
Missions, 1920 (July), pp. 340-356. Reprinted in the Japan Advertiser, Apr. 14, 
15, 16, 1921. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. Ill 

thesis in a progressive, orderly fashion with the use of the 
materials furnished by the study of Comparative Religion. 
His important points are summarized below. 

Japanese national life {kokutai) has developed mainly under 
the influence of a theory and practice which regards the Emperor 
as a Divine Being. This conception is indeed the foundation of 
Japanese national organization. 

Japanese historical documents consistently classify the 
Emperor as divine. " The position occupied by Ten 1 and 
Jdtei 2 among the Chinese or by Jehovah among the Jews has 
been held in Japan from ancient times by the Emperor." 3 
" From ancient times the Emperor has been called by such 
titles as Aki tsu kami A (Manifest Deity), Ara hito kam? 
(Incarnate Deity), and Ara mikami* (Incarnate Deity.)" 7 This 
attribution to the Emperor of a position of association on equal 
terms with deity is likewise indicated by such titles as Shison? 
Shu jo* and Kami go ichi nin 10 as applied to the Emperor, all of 
which, according to Dr. Kato's exposition, may be taken as 
essentially the same as the titles " Most High " and " Lord " 
applied to Jehovah. 11 

The strength of this idea is seen in its effect on the develop- 
ment of Buddhism. " A world religion such as Buddhism, 
when it has once entered Japan, under the influence of our 
national life, becomes a Japanese Buddhism with its center in 
the Imperial House." 12 



Cf. also ibid., pp. 13, 28-29, 66. 



I. 


%- 


* 2. 


±1fr- 


3- 


Kato, Waga Kokntai to Shinto, p. 4. C 


4- 


mwm- 


5- 


m.Am- 


6. 


ISflpf- 


7- 


Waga Kokutai to Shinto, p. 4. 


8. 


£U- 


9- 


±.h- 


10. 


Jt»-A- 


11. 


Waga Kokatai to Shinto, p. 6. 


12. 


Id id, p. 12. 



112 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

This unique divine position of the Japanese Emperor is 
further seen, for example, in the difference that exists between 
foreign coronation ceremonies and the ceremonies accompanying 
the accession to the throne of a Japanese Emperor. Whereas 
in the former case the king receives his crown from a priest who 
is the representative of God, in the latter the Japanese Emperor 
is his own representative, announcing his own succession directly 
to the spirits of the Imperial Ancestors with whom he appears as 
an equal. 1 Again, " Whereas in all foreign countries the ruler 
salutes the flag, in the case of Japan the flag salutes the 
Emperor." 2 

Added to this belief in the divinity of the Emperor, the 
author points out another important factor in the elements of 
Japanese national life, i.e. the position of the Emperor as the 
racial head of his people. The Emperor is head not merely in 
the sense of ruler or leader, he is such by actual blood connec- 
tion. 3 By virtue, then, of this institution of a single line of 
Divine Emperors unchanging from time immemorial, wherein 
the Japanese nation finds its racial head, there is imparted to the 
Japanese national constitution a unique stability in the midst of 
all the changes of history and at the same time a peerless 
character among the political and social systems of the world. 4 

Kato next takes up the matter of loyalty regarded as 
religious faith. 5 The Japanese attitude of consciousness directed 
toward the Divine Emperor is expressed in the term chuko, 
" loyalty." Is it religious or is it not ? Dr. Kato's discussion 
results in an equation of loyalty with religious faith. The latter 
is defined as that attitude of consciousness which is found in 



1. Ibid., pp. 24-25. 

2. Ibid., p. 25. 

3 The basis of this assertion may be seen in the claim made by Japanese 
historians that out of about 6300 Japanese cognomens some 4900 can be traced 
back to connections with the Imperial Line. Cf. Yamagata, Aritomo, " Emperor 
Meiji," The Far East, Vol. 20, No. 4, Nov. 13, 1920, p. 103. 

4. Waga Kokutai to Shinto, pp, 28-64. 

5. Ibid., pp. 66-90. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO, II3 

absolute trust (zettai teki shinrai). 1 Evidence is adduced to 
show that loyalty to the Emperor on the part of Japanese 
subjects is of such intensity as to warrant identification with this 
absolute self surrender. " The attitude of consciousness existing 
in our loyalty and that found in religious faith are identical." 2 
In view of the nature of the object of this devotion it follows 
that the central institution of the Japanese state as found in the 
Divine Imperial Line is suppoited by an intense religious feeling. 
This is the center of Shinto. " Shinto is not simply ethical 
consciousness as related to secular affairs ; its fundamental 
principle subjectively stated, is that it maintains in loyalty an 
attitude of consciousness which rivals that of religious faith. 
This is Tenno kyo* (Mikadoism), the characteristic product of 
our national spirit, which worships the Emperor as divine. For this 
reason Shinto is in truth nothing other than a national religion." 4 
It is a religion of loyalty. 

The discussion now logically turns to the detailed considera- 
tion of the nature of Shinto thus defined as Emperor worship. 
As a preliminary to this discussion the author takes up the 
study of the nature of religion itself. 5 " Religion," he says, " is 
a practical mood of a man's mind toward the divine," 6 which 
he further explains to mean that " religion is a practical means 
whereby man enters into vital relationship with some object or 
objects regarded as. divine. Such objects of religious faith may be 
either naturalistic (shizen teki) or ethical (rinri teki). In either 
case the religious object is regarded as higher than the man 
himself. The human, mental attitude toward the religious 

1. /did, p. 72. 

2. Ibid., p. 80. 

3. ;?cj|f^- The term is to be found in neither the Nikon Hakkwa Dai 
Jiten (Encyclopedia Japonica, Tokyo, 1 908- 1 9) nor the most extensive of the 
modern Japanese dictionaries, namely the Dai Nikon Kokugo Jiten by Uyeda 
and Matsui (Tokyo, 1915-19). 

4. Waga Kokutai to Shinto, pp. 80-8 1. 



5. Ibid., pp. 91-122. 

6. Ibid., p. 120. 



yj$r*yjv- 



h$ 



114 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

object may be termed faith or belief. This is a state of con- 
sciousness signifying either unconditional trust or, in its last phase, 
absolute freedom, and is not theoretically abstract but is practi- 
cally concrete." 1 

All religions divide into two great classes, (i) theocratic 
religion and (2) theanthropic religion. The former emphasizes 
the divine element and the separation of the human from the 
divine, the latter emphasizes the human element and the merging 
of the human with the divine. The former is deo-centric, the 
latter is homo-centric. 2 Examples of the former are found in 
Christianity, Buddhism and Mohammedanism. Other religions, 
including Shinto, are homo-centric, that is, gods and men possess 
identical attributes. 

" The Japanese conception of deity is to be completely 
identified with the theanthropic system. If finds deities 
among men and in nature. Men are kami ; nature is kami 
(Hito wa sunawachi kami, shizen zva sunawachi kami tarn 
mono nari)."* As for the meaning of kami, Dr. Kato declares 
that the term has the primary significance of such English words 
as " upper," " above," " higher " or " superior." 4 

Modern official Shinto is thus not merely a system of ethics 
divorced from religion ; its basis is religious. In this connection 
the author remarks : " To be sure, in our country, acts of 
loyalty toward the Emperor as the head ot our collective family 
system partake of a moral nature, so that it is hardly necessary 
to say that one aspect of loyalty permits of an ethical explana- 
tion. But in as much as the Emperor, who constitutes the 
object which imparts life to this loyalty considered as morality, 
is equipped conjointly with divine and human natures, it follows 
that that which from an external point of view is regarded as an 
ethical element, when considered in its deeper aspects, becomes 



I. Ibid., p. 119. 

2. Ibid., pp. 122-124. 

3. Ibid., p. 133. 

4. Ibid. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 115 

transfused with the white heat of religious faith. Indeed, the 
loyalty of the Japanese has been so conspicuously transformed 
into faith and religion as to lead foreign scholars to go as far as 
to say that loyalty constitutes the religion of the Japanese people. 
As has already been explicitly set forth, the Emperor is Incar- 
nate Deity {Aki-tsu-kami) and occupies in Japanese faith the 
position which Jehovah occupied in Judaism. It has also been 
made clear that the spirit of loyalty which impels our goodly 
subjects, is nothing other than the heart of faith which controlled 
the chosen Hebrew people." 1 

" Therefore, from the Japanese standpoint, that attitude of 
consciousness which stimulates loyalty to the Emperor, regarded 
as man, when he is regarded as Deity, immediately becomes 
filled with the content of an enthusiastic religious faith which 
offers body and spirit as a holy sacrifice. Wherefore, if one 
regards this merely from the standpoint of morality, it may be 
designated the unique patriotism of the Japanese. This is the 
secular aspect of Shinto. It must not be forgotten, however, 
that Shinto possesses fundamental aspects as well as external, 
that it is a. national religion which worships the Emperor as 
divine." 2 

The author thus advances to a position from which he can 
pronounce on the essential nature of Shinto. " The pith and 
essence of Shinto is the unique patriotism of the Japanese together 
with national morality, transfused with religious feeling." 3 Or 
again, " the life or essence of Shinto is the unique Japanese 
patriotism touched by the nationalistic religious enthusiasm of 

Japanese people From ancient times on this ha^ 

been called Yamato Damashii, the Soul of Japan. It may also 
appropriately be termed Mikadoism or the nationalistic adoration 
of the Emperor. The psychological attitude of the Japanese as 
directed toward the Emperor is neither mere respect nor simple 



1. Ibid., pp. 219-220. 

2. Ibid., pp. 221-222. 

3. Ibid., p. 222, 



Il6 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

obeisance ; it is reverence and adoration, that is to say, it is 
worship (sukai). This is the ultimate truth of Shinto. Shinto 
is not merely moral consciousness. It must never be forgotten 
that it includes the white heat of a fervent religious devotion, 
namely, Mikadoism, the nationalistic adoration of the Emperor." 1 

Dr. Kato's treatment in a word amounts to an exposition 
of the Japanese state as a theocracy in which a divine being 
manifested in human form exercises the prerogatives of ultimate 
control, Shinto is the cult of religious loyalty to the divine 
imperial line and the sacred Japanese institutions which it cen- 
tralizes. 

The author takes up the matter of the position of the official 
shrines in the thought world of Japan. Are the shrines merely 
cult centers where the moral sentiments of the Japanese people 
are crystalized ? Are they merely social and historical institu- 
tions where the great and virtuous of the past are honored and 
remembered ? Such a point of view is emphatically denied by 
Dr. Kato. For, when we consider the historical origin of the 
shrines and their function in Japanese society, we find (to quote) 
that, " they are sacred spots where deity is supplicated and 
where prayers for the future a^e offered." 2 The great spring 
and harvest festivals, for example, cannot possibly be legiti- 
mately construed as mere secular ceremonials. Those connected 
with the planting of crops presuppose the existence of superna" 
tural power to which appeal is made for good harvests, those in 
the autumn (Niiname Matsuri) contain the primary elements of 
thanksgiving to the kami for blessings received. ^ Hence " we 
cannot pass over the fact that these ceremonials are accompanied 

by a faith in the divine aid of a great spiritual power 

The shrines cannot be limited as being merely edifices where 
past heroes are commemorated in an ethical sense. The affairs 
of the iestivals are pure religion. To regard these as other than 



1. Ibid., pp. 222-223. 

2. Ibid., p. 235. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 11^ 

religious is indeed a biased interpretation and must be pronounced 
an extreme misrepresentation of the shrines." 1 

Dr. Kat5 finds in Shinto, elements so thoroughly satisfactory 
to religious feeling as to entitle it to favorable consideration 
along with Christianity and Buddhism. In Shinto we may 
discern a deep faith in a higher spiritual and ethical world, the 
idea of the incarnation of the divine in the human, 2 the institu- 
tions of prayer, 3 priests and priestesses, 4 ceremonies and worship 
and authority that ultimately resides in the state itself. In intel- 
lectual and ethical content it takes high rank among the religions 
of the world, due primarily to the great organizing principle of 
Divine, Imperial Sovereignty, 5 Buddhism emphasizes [mercy, 
Christianity love, Confucianism humanity ; Shinto teaches 
honesty and sincerity. 6 On the basis, then, of close resem- 
blance in fundamental aspects between the great religions that at 
present occupy the field in Japan, Dr. Kato anticipates ultimate 
reconciliation. 7 

This recognition of the ideal of final human reconciliation 
on the basis of universal brotherhood will be welcomed by all 
who are interested in the permanent good of man. Again, it 
must be frankly admitted that Dr. Kato's discussion raises diffi- 
cult problems tor advocates of the absoluteness of any single 
religion resting on the claims of an exclusive supernaturalism. 
His exposition seems to recognize clearly the fact that all religions, 
Christianity, Buddhism, and Shinto alike, are to be tested by 
their fundamental value in the social life in which they develop. 
Shinto, like other religions, is born ot a human need. In this 
sense we can agree with Dr. Kato in finding in Shinto not simply 
nationalistic local elements, but universal elements as well. Grant- 

1 ibid., pp. 235-7. 

2. Ibid , pp. 257 ff. 

3. Ibid., pp, I96 ff. 

4. Ibid., pp. 201 ff. 

5. Ibid., pp. 248-252. 

6. Ibid-, p. 254. 

7. Ibid.,yp 262-3. 



Il8 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

ing all this, however, it is necessary to add certain reservations 
concerning Dr. Kato's exposition. 

In the first place, on what basis is a valid distinction to be 
created between certain members of Japanese society regarded 
as sacred and the great majority made up of the common and 
profane ? Is it to be an ethical distinction ? It so, postulations 
of divinity are to be vindicated on the grounds of character and 
genuine contribution to human welfare. Or, is it to be meta. 
physical deity, appearing as a superhuman, miraculous inset in 
human history ? In spite of pantheistic presuppositions it would 
appear that Dr. Kato's theory of emperor worship would de- 
mand an affirmative answer here. Yet, it is difficult to see how 
this position is to be reconciled with his exposition of the con- 
sanguinity existing between the Japanese people and the imperial 
line which is the racial head. The connection would seem to 
logically demand the extinction of the difference between the 
worshippers and the worshipped, and what we would have left 
would be a divine Japanese race worshipping itself. 

The main difficulty does not lie here, however. It lies in 
the fact that the very center of Dr. Kato's Shinto theology, 
exactly as in the case of Dr. Kakehi's exposition, is nationalistic 
political philosophy. Dr. Kato's words are unmistakable in 
this matter. Comparing the fortunes of Christianity and Bud- 
dhism with the prospects of Shinto, he says : " Neither Jesus 
nor Buddha complied with the political hopes for an ideal king 
existing in their respective lands, but turned away from the lower 
world to the world of spiritual things. The conditions of Japan, of 
India, and of Judea, however, differ with each country. Japan 
is preeminent above all nations and possesses a firm national 
foundation. Unlike the Jews her people are not citizens of a 
ruined land nor again is she possessed like India of an unstable 
royal house that is subject to rise and decline. She is the 
recipient of a single Imperial Line that has existed unchanged 
from time immemorial, towering aloft like mountains and stars, 
and which shall not change forever. In truth the appearance 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. I IQ 

of the ideal royal Messiah for whom the Jews earnestly 
hoped so long but who never actually appeared, or again, 
the revelation of Cakravarti Rajah, the ideal prince of India, 
may be seen in the Orient in the likeness of the Japanese 
Emperor of immemorial line." 1 In his preface Dr. Kato says, 
" Just as our country possesses in the towering peak of Mt. Fuji 
a natural beauty unsurpassed in all the world, so also this Orient 
land of virtuous men, with its historical record stretching across 
three thousand boundless years, with its Imperial House above 
reaching in unbroken lineage back to immemorial ages, with its 
subjects below looking up to this Line as it towers beyond 
mountains and stars, with its heroes and remarkable men, a 
country, indeed, not unworthy the name, ' The Land of the 
Gods ' — this land has produced a national organization that is 
peerless in the earth." 2 

The book which contains these statements was published 
on February 25, 1919, almost simultaneously with the report of 
the special commission on education which declared, " the 
situation is very grave and calls for serious consideration." 
Whether there may be a connection or not, it is to be said 
that the exposition of these doctrines of a political Messiah in a 
divinely descended prince of age long dynasty, of a national 
organization without a rival in all the world, of an histori" 
cal record reaching back " three thousand years," and of a 
loyalty that is unique in human history, while well adapted to 
foster unlimited ^contentment with the status quo in Japanese 
political life is, also, so formulated as to raise difficult problems 
in the relations of official Shinto. In so far as Japanese political 
life, as centralized in this form of Shinto, may attempt both to 
strengthen itself within Japan and to propagate itself in the world* 
we may anticipate the appearance of serious questions arising in 
connection with the religious and political self-determination 0* 
various groups of peoples. The study of comparative religious 

1. Ibid., p. 251. 

2. Ibid., Preface p. 2. 



120 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

and political history should warn the Shintoists here. It was 
exactly its refusal to adjust its nationalism to universal human 
needs that broke Judaism. 

Again, it is to be pointed out that the position of the 
Emperor in the Japanese state as well as in religion has varied 
with the changing fortunes of Japanese political history. 
Japanese history when scientifically studied, clearly teaches this 
fact. 1 Dr. Kato's exposition reflects the interests of the revival 
of imperial institutions that began with the Restoration in 1868. 
The best index of the actual hold of emperor worship on 
historical Shinto is to be seen in the number of institutions which 
the sentiment of emperor worship has called into existence. Mr. 
Tsuda Noritake, writing in 1920, says on the point, " Emperors 
who have been worshipped as deities after death are exceedingly 
few. The grand total of Shinto shrines in our country today 
amounts to 11 0,000. Out of this great number shrines where 
past Emperors are worshipped total less than ten." 2 Shrines 
at which the living Japanese Emperor is worshipped cannot be 
located in modern Shinto. In consideration of such evidence it 
would appear that Dr. Kato's exposition of the centrality of 
emperor worship in Shinto is more idealistic and pedagogical 
than actual. On the other hand, it is not to be denied that 
Japanese emperors have been regarded as living kaml. The basis 
of this belief will be considered in a later discussion. 

Although Kakehi and Kato go beyond most other Japanese 
interpreters in the philosophical elaboration which they extend 
to Shinto, they are far from standing alone in their religious 
interpretation of the Imperial House. They represent a con- 
temporary school of Shinto which must be taken into serious 
consideration in any effort to understand either recent Japanese 
religious history or the modern political situation. 

1. Cf. Murdoch, James, A History of Japan, Vol. I, pp. 107-8, 118-121, 
184-6, 280, 296-366, 401, 442-50, 455-9, 540, 562-588; Vol. II, pp. 17, 360-61, 
37 2 -7-. 

2. Tsuda, Noritake, Shinto Kigen Ron (#HgJ^, fi$!$SJJilf&, "An 
Essay on the Origins of Shinto," Tokyo, 1920;, p. 247. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 121 

ltd Hirobumi, writing in his Commentaries on the Constitu- 
tion in 1889, said, "The Sacred Throne was established at the 
time when the heavens and the earth became separated. The 
Emperor is Heaven descended, divine and sacred ; He is 
preeminent above all His subjects. He must be reverenced and 
is inviolable. He has indeed to pay due respect to the law, but 
the law has no power to hold him accountable to it. Not only 
shall there be no irreverence for the Emperor's person, but also 
He shall not be made a topic of derogatory comment nor one of 
discussion." 1 

Dr. Kato Hiroyuki, apprehensive of a divided loyalty 
induced by the extension of Christian teaching in Japan, wrote 
in 1907, " Christianity can never be assimilated to the national 
organization (kokutai) of Japan. Assimilation to the national 
organization of Japan would mean the complete destruction of 
the fundamental nature of Christianity. This being the nature 
of Christianity, it is impossible to say that Christianity is not a 
danger to the Japanese national organization. The patriarchal 
government of Japan is peerless among all the nations of the 
earth and accordingly it is not proper that she should revere a 
sovereign apart from the Emperor and the Imperial Ancestors. 
The national organization absolutely forbids that we should have 
above the sovereign • the One True God \" 2 

Kume says concerning the Emperor, " He is regarded as a 

1. ltd, Hirobumi, Commentaries (Eng. trans.), Tokyo, 1889, p. 6. 

2. Kato, Hiroyuki, Waga Kokutai to Kirisuto Kyo (tnH&,£> UHSfa £ %^k 
%fc, " Our National Constitution and Christianity," Tokyo, 1907), p. 56. With 
Dr. Kato's statement may be compared an editorial from the Keisei of Feb. I, 
19 1 5, which says, " Even Christian believers, granted that they are Japanese, must 
understand why our national institution of loyalty to the Imperial House and the 
custom of ancestor worship are not to be regarded or disregarded as convenience 
may dictate Under the religious freedom, granted by our Constitu- 
tion, any religious faiths are, or course, permissable, but they must not be in 
opposition to our national institutions ; and on that account European Christianity 
must be revised so that it can co-exist with these institutions and harmonize with 
our national character. . . . Therefore if even in the least degree it is desired 
that Christianity shall strike down its roots, influence the national mind, and thus 



122 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

living kami, loved and revered by the nation above all things 
on earth, and himself loving and protecting the nation, who are 
deemed sons of Kami nagara and are entrusted to his care by 
the kami. .... Thus, Shinto (doctrine of the kami) is 
kundb (doctrine of the Emperor) for Shintoism is Mikadoism ; 
' the kami's will is the Emperor's will ' is a maxim inscribed on 
the heart of every Japanese. Herein one may see the fountain- 
head of our patriotic spirit, whose marvelous activity has served 
to raise Japan in these fifty years to the level of the first-rate 
Powers of the world." 1 

In line with this same idea* of Shinto, a recent Cabinet 
official has declared, " The protection and advancement of the 
country is in the care of the ancestral spirits and their power 
resides in the Emperor. The use of that power is the work of 
the Imperial throne. ,.' . . . . The central idea of the 
Japanese state is the belief that the spirits of the Imperial ancestors 
continue to rule through their living representatives, and from 
this belief springs the singular national spirit of the Japanese 
people." 2 

Iyenaga has likewise interpreted the substance of the Shinto 
of the Restoration period as capable of being expressed in the 
proposition that the Emperor, as the lineal descendant of the 
gods, must be revered, and worshipped as deity. 3 

More recently Uyehara has given expression to this theory 
of the Emperor in terms that suggest Kakehi's idea of a unique 
Japanese revelation of the Absolute. " He [the Emperor] is to 
the Japanese mind the Supreme Being in the Cosmos of Japan, 
as God is in the universe of the pantheistic philosopher. From 
him everything emanates, in him everything subsists. ... * 



prosper, it is necessary that plans should be made to reconcile it with our great 
national principles and customs. If to do this it be necessary to throw over the 
doctrine of a most high God, throw it over." J. E. 1915 (April), pp. 181-2. 

1. Kume, Kunitake, " Shintd," Fifty Years of New Japan, Vol. II, p. 30. 

2. Japan Advertiser, Nov. 3, 19 16. 

3. The Constitutional Development of Japan, p. 24, 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 1 23 

He is supreme in all temporal affairs of the State as well as in all 
spiritual matters." 1 

Dr. Hiroike Senkuro cites with approval the phrase. AH 
tsu mi kami tarn ryohelka no seitoku, " the holy virtue of their 
Majesties, the Emperor and Empress, the Manifest Deities." 2 
Dr. Haga in explanation of his idea of the relation between 
Japanese Emperors and subjects that has continued from the 
beginning of Japanese history to the present says, tl Kami, 
Deity or God. used in the sense of the ' above ' is with 
its honorific prefix ' O,' even now applied for the Mikado — 
hence the identification of God and Emperor." 3 Mr. Mochizuki 
Kotaro, writing of the Emperor Meiji Tenno in 19 13 said, " Not 
a single Japanese is there who does not regard and obey every 
utterance of His late Majesty as divine revelation." 4 

These examples could be extended. They reach their 
climax in the representations made by Dr. Uesugi Shinkichi of 
the Law Department of the Tokyo Imperial University, who 
says, " Subjects have no mind apart from the will of the Em- 
peror. Their individual selves are merged with the Emperor. 
If they act according to the mind of the Emperor they can 
realize their true nature and they can attain the moral ideal. 
This is the fundamental relationship existing between the Japan- 
ese people and their Emperor who is the descendant and exten- 
sion of the Great Deity \Ama-terahi-d-mi-kami\. The organizing 
will resides inherently in the Emperor and apart from the Imperial 
mind there exists no organizing will." 5 

1. The Political Development of Japan, p. 23. Cf. also ibid., pp. 19, 21. 

2. Jinja STikei to Shukyd (m^Lf-JlM, mtit^Wct ^tfc "Shrine Rever- 
ence and Religion "), p. 3. 

3. Haga, Yaeichi, "The Spirit of Japan," T. J. S. L., Vol. XV (1916-17) 
p. 123. 

4. Mochizuki) Kotar5, The Late Emperor of Japan as a World Monarch, 
Tokyo, 1913, Preface, p. II. 

5. Uesugi, Shinkichi, Kokutai Seikwa no Hatstiy'o (J^tl^, H$ftfpH^£ 
ff^> "The Exaltation of the Essence of the National Constitution," Tokyo, 
1919), p. 58. In evaluating Dr. Uesugi's claims it needs to be remembered that 



124 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 

All of these statements, as in the cases of the interpretations 
made by Dr. G. Kato and by Dr. Kakehi, reflect dynastic 
interests that have come into special prominence since the Resto- 
ration. The political value of the centralizing influence, during 
the period of rapid change since the beginning of the Meiji Era, 
of the idea of an unchanging and sacred imperial line, is well 
recognized by Japanese politicians and scholars. 1 Indeed, it is 
difficult to avoid the impression that such political interest is 
largely the determining factor in giving form to the interpretation 
which makes emperor worship the center of modern Shinto. It 
is easy to pass from this to the position that the chiet object of 
Shinto ceremonials should be the development of sentiments 
directed toward the maintenance of the imperial throne. This is 
precisely the line of argument taken by Dr. Ariga Nagao in his 
discussion of Shinto Kokkyo Ron, " Shinto as a State Religion." 
Dr. Ariga attempts to show that the cult of the Shinto shrines is 
nothing other than a state religion. 2 He recognizes great defici- 



under the existing organization of the Japanese government this Imperial mind is 
always mediated to the people by the various bureaus and departments of the 
government, and that motives and methods of the intervening mediation are 
exactly where investigation would have to be made in order to establish (he 
content of the original organizing will. 

1. Cf. Yamashita,Yo^i\\\2xo, "The Influence of ShintS and Buddhism in 
Japan," T. J. S. L., Vol. IV (1897-8), Pt. IV, p. 257. 

2. In summary of this point Dr. Ariga says, " I can by no means agree 
with the proposition that the festivals [of the Shinto shrines] are not religious 
Failure to recognize that they are religious amounts to a disregard of reason. . . 
. . ShintS is to be looked upon as a religion and there is justification for saying 
that up to the present the state has simply extended protection to a sect of Shinto 
which has not emphasized doctrine." [" Shinto Kokkyo Ron]' Tetsugaku Zasshi, 
I910 (June), pp. 709-715] Prof. Inouye TetsujirS has likewise said, " There are two 
opinions : that Shinto is a religion, and that it is not a religion If we speak from 
the standpoint of religious science, of course it is a variety of religion. Furthermore, 
there are points in Shinto that lie very much at the foundation of Japanese 

national morality However, elemen ary it may appear as a religion, 

yet from the point of view of its relations with the national constitution {kokulai) 
and with national morality there is no occasion for taking a destructive a'ii ude 
toward Shinto.". {Kokumin Dotokn Gaircn, p 322). The ame au hor has made 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 125 

encies in official Shinto as a religion, but feels that these defects 
can be made good by importations of ethical pabulum from 
Confucianism. 1 Then regarding the matter before us, he re- 
marks, " The fundamental principle of Shinto ceremonials consists 
in the preservation of the Japanese Imperial Throne, eternal as 
Heaven and Earth. This is their most important character. 
The carrying out of the will of the Imperial Ancestors is the 
greatest principle of Shinto. But it goes without saying that in 
order to make the Imperial Throne eternal the Japanese state 
itself must be eternal. But in order to make the state eternal 
the Japanese people must develop continuously. " 2 

The extreme point of view which would seek either to effect 
or to accompany this continuous development of the Japanese 
people by the expansion of Shinto as a world religion is not con- 
fined to Professor Kakehi. Professor Tanaka Yoshito has said 
regarding the Great Way of Shintd, " To proclaim the Great 
Way of our empire throughout the world — this is our principal 
task, this is the sacred calling of the Japanese race." 3 A recent 
editorial in Kami Kaze, a Shinto magazine says, " Shinto is a 

great religion that includes all others For 

example, Shinto may be compared with a tree while all other 
religions are fertilizers. Thus Shinto, by absorbing and assimi- 
lating various fertilizers, as the result of a process of inclusion 
and selection, must increase and expand itself. .... A 
religion like Christianity, however, which neglects both the 
family system and nationalism is not a fertilizer. On the other 

public declaration in favor of encouraging visitation at the shrines on the part of 
school children as a mean of developing patriotism. \Cf. Meiji Seitoku Kitten 
Gakkai Kiyo, Vol. VII (April, 1917), pp 225-229 ; also J. E. 1916, pp 156, 377 ; 
ibid. 1918, p. 182. 

1. "Confucianism," says Dr. Ariga, "is well adapted to the Japanese 
national constitution (kokutai). It is also suited to present day conditions of 
living and affords a satisfactory solution of the relations of individuals and the 
Absolute." (Ariga, op. cit , p. 721). 

2. Op. cit. 

3. lanakci) Yoshito, Shinto Hongi, p. 161. 



126 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO" 

hand it is a great evil. If the usages of the existing family system 
should become extinct in Japan and we should come to pure 
individualism, or if, again, we should abandon nationalism and 
become altogether humanitarian, the results would be dis- 
astrous." 1 Another contemporary Shinto publication, Miizu, with 
each issue prints the motto : " Dai Nikon Sekai Kyo" Great 
Japan World-teaching." 2 Omoto Kyo, which has achieved no 
small popularity in Japanese military circles, teaches, " The 
people and Gods who are centralized in the doctrine of Kodo- 
Omoto are only working to accomplish this greatest and loftiest 
task of unifying the world under the sway of the Emperor of 

Japan We are only aiming at making the 

Emperor of Japan rule and govern the whole world, as he is the 
only ruler in the world who retains the spiritual mission inherited 
from the remotest ancestors in the Divine World." 3 Dr. Uesugi 
Shinkichi, writing after the close of the World War, with post 
bellum reconstruction issues in mind, says, " It is now most clear 
that the salvation of the entire human race is the mission of our 
empire. Nations are now in a condition of disorder. There are 
classes within the nations, each class struggling for its own 
interests and each thinking the other an irreconcilable enemy. 
[Radicalism is spreading abroad. The poison of the disease 
penetrates flesh and bones and threatens to overthrow the state. 
The idea of reliance upon the state is conspicuously weakened. 
The heart of man has lost its power to cooperate. Individuals do 
as they please, acting dissolutely without restriction. The capital- 
istic classes of England and America, flushed with the victory 
of the Great War, have become arrogant and domineering 
throughout the world and are giving rein to unbounded greed. 
Behold the world is full of the struggle between capital and 

1. Kami Kaze (Jf$J|jJ, Tokyo, July, I, 1 92 1, p. 4. 

2. Pub. No. 45, Sakuragi Clio, Uyeno, Shitaya, Tokyo. 

3. Taisho Nichi-Nichi Shim-bun* Osaka, Dec, 21, 1920. For a statement by 
a Japanese critic of certain chauvinistic aspects of Omoto Kyo and a related ten- 
dency toward popularity in military circles, see M. Honda, Omoto-kyo : What 
it is and Why it Spread," Japan Advertiser, Tokyo, Jan. 27, 1 921, p. 4. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 1 27 

labor. They are fallen into the pit. The hell of fighting and 
bloodshed has appeared on earth. 

" When we observe such conditions, there is not one of our 
people who does not believe that, if they only had our Emperor 

as theirs, they would not come to such extremity 

Our people, through the benevolent virtue of the Emperors, 
have attained a national constitution that is without parallel in 

the world Now, if all the human race should 

come to look up to the virtue of our Emperor and should come 
to live under that influence, then there would be light for the 
future of humanity. Thus the world can be saved from destruc- 
tion. Thus life can be lived within the realms of goodness and 
beauty. Of a truth, great is the mission of our nation." 1 

In considering the religious definition of official Shinto we 
have had before us a form of statement which, simultaneously 
with an insistence on the importance of the shrine ceremonies, 
makes emphatic declaration of the religious nature of the national 
cult. The solutions ot the related religious problems propose 
either reconciliation between Shinto and other religions or ab- 
sorption of other religions by Shinto. The centrality of political 
considerations in the solutions, however, carries the problem 
outside of purely religious matters and presents factors which, in 
the extreme form advocated by such expositors as Kakehi and 
Uesugi, constitute a contradiction of the principles of interna- 
tionalism. 

The study as thus far conducted points to the necessity 
of investigating more precisely the nature of the supernaturalism 
that is involved in official Shinto. The questions to be taken up 
for examination in the ensuing pages include an attempt to test 
the claim that Shintd is not a religion as based on the assignment 
of a strictly nationalistic and historical, human character to the 
hand. Can the claims for the uniqueness of this euhemeristic 
conception of deity in Shinto be maintained ? The matter may 



Uesugi, Shinkichi, Kokutai Seikwa no Hatsnyo, pp. 205-6. 



128 THE POLITICAL PHIIOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO" 

be tested ( i ) by an examination of the primary meaning of kami 
in Shinto and a comparison with the religious philosophy of other 
peoples, (2) by an investigation of the historicity of the great 
kami that head the genealogical lists of modern official Shinto, 
and (3) by an effort to determine whether the cult life of official 
Shintc is such as to identify it with real religion. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 29 



CHAPTER V. 
The Meaning of Kami. 

An argument based on the uniqueness of the idea of kami 
is advanced by certain modern Shintoists as a support for the 
proposition that the official cult does not partake of the super- 
naturalism of ordinary religion. Dr. Y. Haga represents a wide 
group when he says that the difficulties of the shrine issue have 
their origin in a misunderstanding of the word kami and a 
confusion with religion. 1 Official Shinto frequently falls back 
on the assertion that the kami are merely superior human beings 
who have contributed meritoriously to the progress of the Japanese 
state. 2 It is necessary to investigate these claims more exactly. 

With regard to the word kami, it is probably safe to say that 
there is no other term in the original Japanese language with 
such a rich and multiform content. Nor is there another term 
with respect to which translators, both Japanese and foreign, 
have encountered greater obstacles. The variation in concepts 
covered by the form is so great — ranging as it does from hair 
on the human head to emperor and deity — that at first sight one 
naturally inclines toward the conclusion that we are dealing with 
totally disconnected ideas, perhaps originally expressed by differ- 
ent sounds, which have, in the process of time, become assimilat- 
ed to one and the same phonetic form, or else that the explanation 

1. See above, p. 85, also pp. 88, 93, 95. 

2. Note, for example, the statement which one of the provincial governors is 
reported to have givtn out to a certain representative of Christianity, " Although 
the word kami continues to be used in the national cult, it has in no way the 
meaning of a supei natural being, which you give to it. It connotes only illustrious 
men, benefactors of their country. Consequently all Japanese, no matter what 
their religion, can pay them honour without doing violence to their conscience." 
The National Ctrit in Japan (A Roman Catholic Study of its Opposition to Evan- 
gelization), p. 7. 



130 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

is to be found in primitive undifferentiation, in accordance with 
which the ancient Japanese, out of a poverty of linguistic elements 
and a lack of capacity for making logical distinctions, came to 
cover a variety of experiences with an identical verbal form. 1 
Our conclusions in the matter, however, must rest on an in- 
vestigation of the actual historical usage of the term kami itself. 

The attempts of Japanese scholars to arrive at the under- 
lying ideas connected with the term kami, have followed very 
largely along philological lines. The original content is made 
to depend on an etymological analysis into supposedly primary 
elements. This form of investigation, while manifestly pre- 
carious in method, has served to indicate the fact that, in 
spite of the assurance with which certain controversialists, 
official and otherwise, have insisted on a non-religious content 
for the term, nevertheless, the opinions of Japanese scholars, 
themselves, have been far from unanimous regarding the 
fundamental meaning. 

In the ensuing discussion the attempt is trade, in the first 
place, to pass in review some of the more noteworthy explana- 
tions that have been attached to kami by Japanese scholars and, 
in the second place, to examine the actual historical usage of the 
term and, finally, to suggest a hypothesis wherewith the existing 
diversity of content may be accounted for and harmonized. 

We turn first, then, to matters of etymology. Neglecting a 
few palpably forced and impossible explanations such as those 
that derive kami from a mispronunciation of yomi or yomo, 
" lower world," 2 from kamu, " to brew," from kamu, " to 
chew," 3 from kabi, " mould " 4 (a marvelous thing leading to the 
idea of the supernatural involved in the conception of deity), 
etc., we find three main types of explanation: (i) Interpreta- 

1. So Buckley, " Shinto Pantheon," New World, Dec. I906, p. 1. 

2. Cf. Proceedings of the 17th Session of the Comparative Religion Society 
Df Tokyo (Hikaku Shukyo Gakkai), Japan Weekly Mail, April 8, 1899, p, 350. 

3. Cf Miyao and Inamura, op. cit., p. 167. 

4. View of lakahashi Goro, in Shinto Shinron (" New Discusssion of 
Shinto ";, cited in Griffis, The Religions of Japan, p. 381, note 21. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. I3I 

tions that emphasize a primitive meaning of purity. (2) Those 
which mike the fundamental idea one of superiority, either in 
position or degree. (3) Those which go back to forms involving 
ideas of mystery, strangeness, incomprehensibility, the supernat- 
ural, the superhuman, or the " superordinary." We may take 
up the study in the order just indicated. 

1. Derivations from forms meaning " pure " or " bright." 
( 1 ) Kami is derived from kamu garni 1 by the elision of the 
two middle syllables. This form, rendered into modern Japanese 
and interpreted in accordance with the sense of the ideographs 
employed in writing it, gives terasJiite mini or shoran, " shining- 
see." The reference is to the viewing of an object or objects on 
the part of deity. The term thus has something of the meaning 
of the phrase, " to behold from glory." This etymology is 
advanced by Imibe Masamichi. It is claimed by him, without 
foundation, to be the most ancient Japanese explanation of the 
term, kand t based upon oral traditions dating from the earliest 
period of fapanese history. The etymology is taken by Imibe 
to indicate an ancient attempt at expressing a conception of the 
purity of the divine nature. " The divine mind," he says, " like 
a clear mirror reflects all things of nature, operating with impartial 
justice- and tolerating not a single spot of uncleanness. That 
which in heaven is Kami, in nature is Spirit and in man is 
Sincerity. If the spirit of nature and the heart of man are pure 
and clear (seimei), then they are kami."~ As the sun in 
heaven lights up the world, so divine intelligence permeates all 
things in human society and in nature. 

In criticism it may be briefly said that while this interpreta- 
tion indicates the thoroughgoing nature of the Shinto emphasis 
on ceremonial cleanness, it has no support in scientific philology. 



1. mt- 

2. Imibe, Masamichi, Shindai Ruketsu (^^JEjI, JfifftPlfc "Oral Tradi- 
tions of the Age of the Gods "). Cited in M. Maruyama, Dai Nikon wa Shinkoku 
Nari, p. 31 ; also in Inamura, op. cit., pp. 159-160. Imibe flourished in the 
Muromachi period. The facts of his life have not been transmitted. 



I32 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

It is an attempt to read back a developed moral philosophy, 
containing Buddhistic impressions into the ancient situation. 

(2) Kami is derived from kagami, 1 " mirror," by the 
elision of the middle ga. The connection with deity is, in this 
case, supposed to arise from a metaphorical usage, and, as in 
the preceding explanation, is taken as a primitive attempt to 
express a conception of the purity of the divine nature. God is 
kagami, a clear mirror, spotless and without a cloud defiling 
his purity. 

Yamazaki Ansai (161 9- 1682) who sponsors this form of 
etymology, says with reference to the origin of the term, " The 
heart of Kami is pure like a clear mirror without a single trace 
of dimness, therefore, as a figurative expression of this idea, the 
use of the word kagami arose. Later the middle ga was drop- 
ped, giving the form kami"* 

It is probable that the etymology here given was suggested 
by the prominence of the mirror as a sacred object in the Shinto 
cult. The explanation of the connection of the mirror with the 
shrines, which is frequently given by the Japanese literati is that 
it is emblematic of purity. 3 On the other hand, it seems tolera- 
bly certain that the mirror became attached to religious cere- 
monial in old Japan, not because it symbolized purity or 
cleanness, not even ceremonial cleanness, but because it was 
employed as part of the magical paraphernalia of the archaic 
cult. 4 



1. ft- 

2. Cf. Maruyama, op. cit.\ also, Miyao and Inamura, op. cit, p. 160. 
Keichu (d. 1701), Watarae Nobuyoshi (d. 1714), Yoshikawa Koretaru (d. 1694) 
and other scholars of the Suika school of Shinto [a combination of Shinto and 
Confucianism, organized by Yamazaki Ansai] support this same view. 

3. Cf Japan Weekly Mail, op. cit. 

4. "When the mirror first appears in Japanese literature it is evidently as 
part of a magical technique for removing an obscuration of the sun. Cf. C, pp. 
54-59. Maruyama is of the opinion that ancient Japanese ceremonial treatment of 
the mirror had its origin in a belief that the sun goddess lived therein as a shadow 
spirit. Cf. Maruyama, op. cit. t p. 37. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 33 

(3) Another view similar to that just stated, while deriving 
kami from the same form, kagami, attempts to carry the 
etymology back to a usage that obtained prior to the know- 
ledge of the mirror in Japanese society and takes the original 
meaning of kagami to be the same as kagayaite-mieru, " to 
appear bright " or " to appear brilliant." Thus Tanigawa 
Kotosuga (d. 1776), who advocates this interpretation says, 
" Before the mirror was known the sun and moon were called 
Ame-no-kagami-no-mikoto (' Bright- Appearing-August-Thing-of- 
Heaven ')." This notion of brightness, together with the derived 
idea of purity, was then carried over into religion, and kagami 
in the abbreviated form of kami was made to serve as the 
expression of this ancient idea of the inner nature of deity. 1 

The etymology here again is fanciful. It has no support in 
Japanese philology. It reflects the influence of highly developed 
and comparatively modern ideas of purity. 

(4) An additional derivation while going back to the same 
form kagami assigns a primary meaning " to look at," " to 
judge," " to decide." 2 We have, for example, in the modern 
Japanese language the word kangamiru used in the senses : 
to observe carefully, to profit by experience, to take warning, 
to judge, to determine, to consider. Asa matter of fact, how- 
ever, this kangamiru , from which kangami or kagami in the 
sense of " to judge " or " to decide " is supposed to be derived, 
has no verifiable connection with kagami, " mirror" but, on 
the other hand, evidently comes from kangaeru (" to think," 
" to consider ") and mini (" to see," " to observe "). Note 
the modern vernacular kangaete mimasho, " I will consider the 
matter." 

(5) Closely related to this kagami etymology is an attempt, 

1. Tanigawa, Kotosuga, Wakun no Shiori (@JI|±$j|, ftlUlI^> " Guide to 
Japanese Interpretations of Chinese "), Vol. I, p. 538. Ed. by Inouye Yorikuni 
(#±M) and Kosugi Onzon (/>£$$»), Tokyo, 1898. 

2. Cf. Harada, Art. « God (Japanese idea of) ", H. E. R.E., Vol. 6, p. 
294. 



134 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

which also appears to have originated with Tanigawa, to find 
the archaic form of kami in akami, 1 which is taken to be equi- 
valent to the form akiraka ni mini, " to see clearly " \akiraka 
ni, " clearly/' " brightly/' " intelligibly " " plainly/' " manifest- 
ly," and miru, tl to see." Cf. akctmi, " a reddish tinge," aka, 
" red," and mi, "viewing," " seeing," "beholding"]. 2 The 
usage is supposed to reflect a primitive insight into the nature of 
the divine intelligence. On the face of it, however, the ety- 
mology is perhaps even more forced than those that precede. 
It takes it for granted that the philosophical interpretation existed 
in the primitive religion. 

2. Derivations based on a reference to usage in which the 
idea of " superiority " is primary. 

(i) The thesis here becomes, Kami w a kaminari? "Kami 
means above." The interpretation makes use of the fact that in 
the modern Japanese language kami may denote either the idea 
of deity or that of ordinary superiority in spatial position or in 
social rank. Since the time of the great revival of pure Shinto, 
beginning with Arai, this has been the most orthodox statement 
of the origin of the term under consideration, i.e., the diversified 
meanings of kami can all be carried back to this same form with 
the primary significance of superiority. This has the support of 
such scholars as Arai Hakuseki, Kamo Mabuchi, Ise Teijo, 
Kalo Genchi, Harada, and numerous others. 

Arai, who enjoys the reputation of having been the first 
noteworthy euhemerist of Japanese history, says in the Toga, 
11 In ancient times what was called kami was man. In the 
Nihongi, divine ancestors and sacred personages (shinsei shinjin) 
are described as kami. In the colloquial speech of our country 
this word is used to designate things that are venerated (sons/to)* 
For example, rulers and high government officials are all called 

1. Written fjgjf,. 

2. Cf. Maruyama, op. cit., p. 32. 

3- PUil^ v J- 

4- gffl. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 35 

kami. Or to take a more commonplace example, the hair of 
the head is also kami. We also designate things that are high 
up [in space] by the use of this same word kami. So also, do 
we indicate our attitude of reverence toward those among men 
who are holy by the expression kami. In this connection we 
also use the forms Ok ami and Omikami." 1 

Although later students of the subject have been divided in 
the extent to which they have participated in Ami's euhemeristic 
tendencies, yet the far-reaching influence that his views have 
exerted upon native and foreign scholars alike is seen in the 
dominant position which his idea of kami, as meaning fundamen- 
tally, " superior," maintains in modern Japanese philology ► 
Harada, for example, says, " The generally accepted derivation, 
however, is that to be traced in modified meanings of the same 
word kami, signifying that which is ' above ' or ' superior/ in 
contrast to shimo, signifying that which is ' below ' or ' inferior.' 
The upper part of the body is kami, while the lower part is 
shimo. A man of superior rank is kami, while an inferior is 
shimo. Heaven is kami, earth is shimo. So general is the term- 
that it lends itself readily as an appellation of that which is looked 
upon with fear or respect, as above man in power or superior in 
any attribute."^ Dr. G. Kato has given his support to a similar 
view. 3 Ise Teij5 has written in his Miscellany, " The meaning 
of kami is ' above.' Because a thing is venerable it is regarded 
as above and called kami"* Ka/noMabuchi says, " Kami means 
' above.' In a later age people came to;distinguish between kami 
and ' above,' and, because they paid attention to the ideograms 
only, they forgot the original meaning and came to think that, 
since the ideograms differed, the meanings differed also." 5 

1. Aral Hakuseki, Zenshu (j^f^Q^^Jfl, "Complete Works of Arai 
Hakuseki "), Vol. IV, p. 75. Ed. by Ichijima Kenkichi (rfrgjlf^j), Tokyo, 1906. 

2. Harada, op. cit. See also The Faith of Japan, pp. 26-7. 

3. See above, p. 114. 

4. Ise, Teijo, Teijo Zakki {&$$$%, "Miscellany of Teijo). Cf. Miyao 
and Inamura, p. 162. 

5. For reference see Miyao and Inamura, op. cit., p. 162. For the inter- 



I36 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

With regard to the evidence for this interpretation it must 
be admitted that it appears to have considerable support in both 
ancient and contemporary usage. That the word kami, in cer- 
tain connections, carries the idea of superiority or height in social 
and political spheres or in spatial position is too apparent to 
admit of contradiction. It is to be noted, however, that the 
formulation of this interpretation into the statement, Kami wa 
kami de aru (" Kami means above "), whether understood in 
the religious sense as expressive of the idea that supreme height 
of character as well as a dwelling place in a world above belongs 
to deity and that in consequence the god is preeminently worthy 
of worship, or, as expressive of a socio-political point of view, 
which, while repudiating the former religious interpretation, 
accepts kami (" deity ") in the sense of important human beings 
who by virtue of their being kami (" above ") ought to be 
respected, honored and obeyed by the ordinary shimo- jimo, is 
in either case, in such terms as to make it possible to tie up the 
alleged ancient usage very closely with modern theology on the 
one hand and modern political philosophy on the other. Thus, 
etymology is made to give the sanction of antiquity to modern 
institutions. This sanction is even more directly secured on the 
political side by a slightly variant explanation which finds the 
primitive form of kami in the archaic expression, kind, signifying 
" lord," " ruler," or " sovereign." 1 

The important question that here opens up is not whether, 
upon examination of the actual usages of the term, cases can be 

pretations advanced by modern European and American scholars trie reader 
should consult in this connection, Satow, " The Revival of Pure Shintau," T. A. 
S. J., Vol, III, Appendix, p. 43, note 27 ; Chamberlain, B. H., Kojiki, Introduc- 
tion, pp. XXIII-XXIV; Aston, W. G., Shinto, the Way of the Gods, pp. 7-8; 
Florenz, Karl, " Der Shintoismus," Die Orientalischen Religionen, Die Ktilhir 
der Gegenwart, Teil I, Abteilung III, I, p. 195 ; Revon, M., " Le Shinntoisme," 
Revue ck D Histoire des Religions, Vol. XLIX, p. 28; Griffis, W. E., The 
Religions of Japan, p. 30; Knox, Geo. W., The Development of Religion in Japan, 
p. 30; Buckley, Edmund, "The Shinto Pantheon," New World, Dec. 1896, p. I. 
I. Cf. Japan Weekly Mail, Apr. 8, 1899, p. 350. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 37 

found in which kami must be interpreted in the sense of " supe- 
rior " or " above." This much is granted. We need to consider, 
however, the further question as to whether or not this view 
does full justice to the original and characteristic religious con- 
ceptions and practices of the Japanese people. The possibility 
exists that kami interpreted as meaning " above " indicates 
merely a derived and not an original usage, and that it is to be 
fully understood only in relationship with a more comprehensive 
point of view. Material bearing on the solution of this problem 
will be developed later in the discussion. 

(2) In a closely related form of etymology this idea of 
superiority is elaborated into the conception of an invisible, per- 
fect or transcendent god. The explanation here attempts to find 
the primary element of the original usage in kahtreru, " to be 
hidden," The three following derivations are to be noted. 

a. The original of kami is found in kakurimi, 1 " hidden 
person," ' hidden body " ( kakureru, " to be hidden," and mi, 
" body," " self," " person "). Saito Hikomaru (d. 1854), who 
espouses this view, says, "Because Kami is unseen by the eyes of 
man, He is kakuri-mi. This is abbreviated to kami" In 
further explanation Saito says, " In the beginning of heaven and 
earth the Gods of Heaven came into existence of themselves and 
hid their persons. They were without parents and appeared 
spontaneously. They were unseen even by the other gods* 
When the world of man came into being, although the gods 
appeared therein, they were unseen by human eyes and thus 
were called kami (hakuri-mi, ' hidden persons ')." 2 

b. A variation of the above derivation, while going back 
to the same form, kakuri-mi, takes mi in the sense of " spirit," 3 
hence " hidden spirit " rather than " hidden body." 4 

2. For reference see Miyao and Inamura, op. cit. 

3. §g, read variously, tama, tamashii, hishi, kami, kushibi. 

4. Advanced by Hatta Tomonori (d. 1873). Cf. Miyao and Inamura, op, 
cit.,-p, 167. 



I38 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

c. Similarly we have a derivation from kakuri or kakure, 
"hidden," " invisible," or "intangible" and mi-tsuru, "to be 
full of." In their combination the terms are supposed to 
express the ideas of completeness and transcendence. The 
explanation is that in the ancient religious situation thai gave 
rise to the word kami there existed a conception of an Absolute 
who was regarded as existing in the supernatural world in his 
true and complete form but who, as one who was " full of 
intangibleness," could not be seen from the phenomenal world. 1 

3. In the third general group of derivations we have as 
already stated, a reference of the origin of kami to forms that 
have a primary meaning of u strange," " mysterious," " fearful," 
" hidden," " supernatural," " that which is beyond the power of 
the mind to grasp," etc. It may be taken as significant that the 
list of Japanese scholars who may be classified here includes 
some of the greatest names in the history of the interpretation 
of Shinto. We may note the following derivations and inter- 
pretations. 

(1) Kami is derived from kashikomi? "fear," "awe," 
" reverence." 

In the opinion of Arakida Hisaoi (d. 1804), who advocates 
this etymology, kami was employed by the ancient Japanese as 
a means of expressing emotional reactions in the presence of 
whatever was regarded as possessing conspicuous virtue or 
whatever was felt to be fearful and awesome. Arakida says, 
" There are various explanations of the word kami, but none of 
them correct. Kami has the primary meaning of awe-inspiring 
or dreadful. Susa-no-zvo-no-mikoto said to the great serpent, 
1 You are a fearful kami (Na?iji osoru beki kami nari).' In the 
Kimmei chronicle both the tiger and the wolf are called awesome 
kami {kasJiikoki kami). The sixteenth book of the Manyoshu 
speaks of ' the tiger of China who is called kami. There is also 
a pillow word which mentions the wolf in the phrase, ' the field 

I. Cf. Miyao and Inamura, op. cit , pp. 167-8. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 39 

of the true kami of the great mouth.' It is by conclusions 
drawn from such usage that the meaning of kami is to be 
determined." 1 

(2) The interpretation advanced by Hirata is even more 
suggestive than the above. Hirata says, " Regarding the mean- 
ing of kami : At the beginning of the Chronicles of the Age of 
the Gods (Nihongi) it stands written, ' In ancient times Heaven 
and Earth were not yet separated and the In and the Yo* were 
as yet undivided. All was turbid and of chaotic mass like 
an egg, and kadi was contained therein.' Kami is the same as 
this kadi. The ka of kabi has the significance of ' that ' 3 and is 
a demonstrative serving to point out an object. .Bi is a word 
that indicates something which is mysterious {reimyo)* The 
forms kabi, kami, kabu and kamu are all the same. . . . The 
kabi which was included in original matter was the cause of 
matter taking on form. . . . Kabi was the source of all 
things that appeared in the world and, in as much as it was 
very mysterious, afterwards everything that had mystery in it 
came to be designated by this word. Now kabi and kami are 
the same. In as much as the idea is that of a thing that is mys- 
terious and strange, not only the kabi which performed the 
work of creation, but also everything in the world possessing 
marvelous and strange virtue was called kabi. Later this was 
written kami. Then it followed that among ordinary human 
beings any superior person was called kami. Also, in the natural 
world anything that was preeminent was generally called kami." 5 

(3) Motoori's interpretation similarly emphasizes aspects of 



1. Cf. Miyao and Inamura, op, cii., p. 165. 

2. The male and female, or active and passive, principles of Chinese 
philosophy. 

3 fl£, kano. 

4- SI#j>5 wonderful, miraculous, mysterious, supernatural. 

5. Hirata Atsutane, Koshiden (^pH^ftl, ifi^fS), Bk I- Hirata Atsntane 
Zenshu (^pg^m^^, « The Complete Works of Hirata Atsutane," ed. by 
Muromatsu Iwao, Tokyo, 1915), Vol. VII, pp. 6-9. 

Hirata further says, " In a far later time [i.e. subsequent to the golden age of 



I40 TEE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

primitive supernaturalism. His statement may be taken as the 
most thorough that has yet been advanced by any Japanese 
scholar. He says, " I do not yet understand the meaning of 
the term kami. Speaking in general, however, it may be said 
that kami signifies in the first place, the deities of heaven and of 
earth that appear in the ancient records and also the spirits 
(initama) of the shrines where they are worshipped. It is 
hardly necessary to say that it includes human beings ; also 
such objects as birds, beasts, trees, plants, seas, mountains, and 

pure Yamato civilization] Chinese ideograms were imported and the word kami was 
fitted on to the Chinese character {shin flif ). Although we may think that these 
correspond exactly, as a matter of fact, only about seventy or eighty per cent is a 
fit while twenty or thirty per cent is not." \Hirata, Atsutane, Kbao Taii (" Prin- 
ciples of Old Shinto "), in Hirata Atsutane Kden Shu (" Collected Lectures of 
Hirata Atsutane "), ed. by Muromatsu Iwao (Tokyo, 1913), p. 33]. The same 
opinion has been advanced by other Japanese scholars. Hirata's position, however, 
is as much influenced by his prejudice against Chinese civilization as it is by his 
scholarship. As Hirata points out, it is hardly to be expected that the Chinese 
and Japanese forms should coincide exactly in meaning. Yet, that the original 
content of f$ is closely similar to the fundamental idea of kami may be seen by 
an analysis of jji$ into its primitive elements. 

The two important elements to observe in the analysis of fif are the radical^ 
and the phonetic ox primitive ^. The latter symbol is undoubtedly the older form 
since it appears independently in ancient Chinese writings with the meaning 
" deity." Chalfant, who has made careful study of the primitive forms of modern 
Chinese ideographs, finds the original of ^ in an ancient sign for lightning, pro- 
bably /( or ft t a pictorial representation of a lightning flash. In the course of its 
evolution the symbol manifests the following different forms, f! , h > /b > § > $ > 

% > %A\b> € 1 5 > E | 3 and finally t£. [Chalfant, Frank, H. Early Chinese Writing, 
in " Memoirs of the Carnegie Museum," Vol. IV., No. 1. (Sept., 1906), Plate 
XXVI, No. 352]. 

The other element ^ appears in modern dictionaries as the one hundred 
thirteenth radical, serving as a classifier for symbols relating to religious matters. 
The most common modern Japanese readings of ^ are shimeshi (n.) meaning " that 
which is indicated " or " that which is pointed out," and shimesu (v.), " to in- 
dicate," " to point out," or " to reveal." The original idea is evidently revelation 
by divination. Shuo Wen in the " Etymological Dictionary of the Han Dynasty," 
published about 120 A.D., explains the sign as indicating " that which comes 

from Heaven as revealing fortune or misfortune to men. From ZZ. and J ' , sun, 
moon, and stars descending. Pertains to astrological scrutiny into divine affairs." 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 141 

so forth. In ancient usage, anything whatsoever which was 
outside of the ordinary, 1 which possessed superior virtue, or 
which was awe-inspiring was called kamu Eminence here does 
not refer merely to the superiority of nobility, goodness or meri- 
torious deeds, but evil or mysterious things, if they are extraordi- 
nary and dreadful, are called kami. It is needless to say that 
among human beings who are kami the successive generations 
of august emperors are all included. The fact that emperors 
are also called ' distant kami ' {tbtsu kami), is because, from the 
standpoint of common people, they are far separated, worthy 
of reverence and majestic. In a lesser degree, we find human 
beings, in the present as well as in ancient times, who are kami. 
Although these may not be accepted throughout the whole 
country, yet in each province, each village and each family 
there are human beings who are kami, each one in accordance 
with his proper position. The kami of the Divine Age were 
for the most part human beings of that time and, because the 
people of that age were all kami, it is called the ' Age of the 
Gods' (Kamiyo). Furthermore, among things which are not 
human, the thunder is always called naru kami or kami nari 
(' sounding kami'). Such things as dragons, the echo {kodama), 
and foxes, in as much as they are conspicuous, wonderful 
and awe-inspiring, are also kami. In popular usage the echo 
is said to be the tengu? which in Chinese writings is referred 

(Quoted in Chalfant, op. cit., Plate XXVI, note). Chalfant says, " The horizontal 
lines may be the sign for ' above,' or a special sign for Heaven. The vertical 
lines depict the descending influences." {Op. cit). 

Thus, the Chinese ideogram for " deity " can be carried back to two elements, 
one growing out of early human experiences with the lightning flash, the other out 
of ideas of an " overhead "force that was manipulated through magic and divination. 

1. ^uinsfttc&i*. 

2. Written by Motoori, ^fH, " tree spirit " ; from ko [ki), " tree," and 
dama (tama), " spirit." In the modern Japanese language kodama (" tree spirit ") 
is still used as colloquial for echo. 

3. 5^#iJ, a long-nosed, red-faced, winged goblin, supposed to inhabit moun- 
tains and forests. He is thus associated with those wild spots wherein vague 
sounds and echoes would stimulate feelings of awe and mystery. 



142 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINT5. 

to as a mountain goblin. 1 The tengu mentioned by the Nihongi 
in the book treating of Emperor Jomei is quite different. 2 
The Genji Monogatari speaks of tengu and also of kodama 
and it might seem as though tengu were different from kodama. 
In as much as the people of that time used tengu and kodama 
interchangeably, however, the usage of the Genji Monogatari is 
not to be taken as especially significant. As a matter of fact 
they are one and the same thing. That which is called kodama 
(echo) in the present, in ancient times was called mountain-man 
{yama-biko)? These matters are of no importance here but are 
advanced merely as an explanation of the echo. In the Nihongi 
and the Manyoshu the tiger and the wolf are also spoken of as 
kami. Again there are the cases in which peaches were given 
the name Okamu-dzu mi-no-mikoto (" August-Thing-Great- 
Kamu-¥xu\t ") and a necklace of jewels was called Mi-kura- 
tana-no-kami (" August-Storehouse-Shelf- Kami "). There are 
also examples in which rocks, stumps of trees and leaves of 
plants spoke audibly. These were all kami. There are also 
numerous examples in which seas and mountains are called 
kami. This does not have reference to the spirit of the 
mountain or the sea, but kami is here used directly of 
the particular mountain or sea. This is because they 
are exceedingly awe-inspiring (kashikoki mono naru yue 
nari). 

" Thus there are various kinds of kami. Some are worthy 
of honor, some are vile, some are strong, some are weak, some 



*• M%&> chi-mi, a monster living in wooded mountains. In Chinese folk- 
lore j|§ indicates a mountain hobgoblin represented as having the face of a man 
and the body of a beast. %%. signifies a forest ogre, likewise having the face of a 
man and the four legs of an animal. 

2. The tengu in this case was evidently a shooting star which the wisdom 
of the time explained as the appearance of the Fox of Heaven. Cf. A., II, p. 
268 (637 A.D., 2nd month, 23rd day) ; N. p. 483. 

3- |li#> from yama, •« mountain " and hiko, " an extraordinary man," "a 
man," " a male." 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 143 

are good, some are evil ; and their hearts and acts vary accord- 
ingly." 1 

(4). Maruyama favours a derivation from kagemi? " sha- 
dow body " {kage, shadow " and mi, " body " or " person "), 
We may gather from his discussion the following points. 3 

a. Use is made of the ancient Shinto idea that the mirror 
(kagami) was the dwelling-place of a spirit, i.e., the mirror was 
a kage-mi, ka and ke (ge) often being used interchangeably in 
the old Japanese language. The elision of the middle syllable 
gives kami. In accordance with this theory, the most ancient 
Japanese word for spirit was kagemi " shadow-body." In this 
usage Maruyama thinks that we can discern the attempt of 
primitive man to indicate his experiences with the vague 
shadows which haunted the world about him, which appeared 
to him in dreams, and which were mysteriously reflected in 
mirrors. 

b. Maruyama then says, " Thus the original usage of kami 
was in connection with whatever ordinary people could not easily 
comprehend, whether in concrete object, in dignity, in virtue, 
in ability, in learning, or in shrewdness." 4 Kami-oh]&cts were 
thus felt as " above " in the sense that they transcended that 
which was well known or well within control. 

c. Accordingly, by a process of natural development out 
of this original feeling of mysterious " overheadness " the word 
came to indicate distinction of grade or position in things and 
in human society, as may be seen in the usages of kami with 



I. Motoori, Norinaga, Kojiki Den, Vol. Ill, Motoori Norinaga Zenshu 
CfcJSJtLlkife-lfl "Complete Works of Motaori Norinaga"), Vol. I, pp. 150-152. 
Ed. by Motoori Hoei (?fc^§!iM)> Tokyo, 1901. Hirata has reproduced this pas- 
sage on kami, with certain modifications, in his Kodo Tail (" Principles of Old 
Shinto "). Cf. Hirata Atsutane Keen Shu (Ed. by I. Muromatsu, Tokyo, 1913}, 
Vol. I, pp. 31 ff. Satow has given an English version of Hirata's rendering in 
T. A. S. J. Vol. Ill, pp. 42-43. 

3. Maruyamu, op. cit., pp. 36-38. 

4. Ibid.,?- 31. 



144 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

the meanings of " governor " or " feudal lord," " hair on the 
human scalp/' and " above " or " superior." 

(5) Miura Sempo, one of the most astute of recent Shintd 
scholars, similarly advances the view that the term kami, in 
its earliest and most characteristic usage, is associated with ideas 
and feelings that arise in the presence of anything reigen teki 
{" mysterious," '" ghostly "•) or fukashigi teki (" marvelous," 
" strange "). 1 He rejects the hypothesis that kami in its original 
sense expresses simply the idea of a supreme or transcendent 
being, although he is willing to accept this as a derived meaning. 
He distinguishes two main steps in the process whereby the 
word has come to take on its characteristic content. 

a. " The first matter of importance to note concerning 
kami is its content of mystery and wonder. Kami means not 
simply that which is superior as compared with human beings 
and with things, but it denotes that which in intelligence, virtue, 
or power is marvelous and mysterious. The fact that [in ancient 
times mountains, rivers, and seas were commonly worshipped 
as kami is not simply because they were looked upon as superior 
in height, size, depth, or breadth, but because these things were 
beyond the power of the mind to grasp and thus mysterious. 
We can explain in the same manner the fact that serpents, tigers, 
and wolves were also kami"* 

b. Then with true pyschological insight Miura adds, " In 
as much, however, as the mysterious and the marvelous are set 
over against that which is not mysterious and not marvelous, it 
goes without saying that an idea of superiority is involved. Thus, 
kami means, in the first place, that which is marvelous and 
mysterious and, in the second place, it seems to me to express 
the idea of superior being." 3 



1. Miura Sempo and Tanaka Jigohei, Shindai no Shiso (^iJirFRjyftfp* 
K $ ?r W 2 ?^ JflWZJ&JlS* " The Ideas of the A S e of the Gods," Tokyo, 1912), p. 
127. 

2. Op. cit. 

3. Ibid., p. 128. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 45 

Miura further advances the hypothesis that Japanese words 
beginning with syllables of the ^-series [i.e., beginning with the 
elements ka> ki, ku, ke or ko] exhibit a tendency toward bearing 
a content that is colored by the ideas of strangeness and mys- 
tery. 1 He makes no attempt to elaborate the theory, however, 
beyond suggesting a few words that illustrate the point in • ques- 
tion. 2 Thus, although his theory is undeveloped, his study as 
far as it goes, favors an etymology that refers the first syllable 
of kami to an original usage in which ka expresses primitive 
reactions in the presence of various baffling, uncontrolled, terrify- 
ing, or mysterious experiences that throw the human mind into 
attitudes of unusual awareness and caution. 

With regard to the ^/-syllable Miura advances the tenta- 
tive hypothesis that this element is to be taken in the same sense 
as mi ("body," " person ") or mi ("fruit," "substance," or 
" matter "). Mi thus must be understood in the sense of sub- 
stantiality or form. As terms analogous to kami in construction, 
he suggests omi (lit. " big body," " big person " ; in the archaic 
regime the term was probably applied to subordinate chiefs who 
were personally attached to the great chief or sumera-mikoto), 
tami (lit. " rice-field person," used even in the modern vernacular 
to indicate the common people), he-mi ox he-bi (" serpent "), 
nezu-mi (" rat "), shira-mi (" louse "), no-mi (" flea "), etc. 3 
Under this analysis, kami would mean, " possessed of mysterious 
or marvelous substance." Th-* underlying idea which Miura 
arrives at is thus identical with that reached by Hirata. 

1. Ibid., p. 127. 

2. Such terms as kakusu, " to conceal," kakureru, " to hide," " to disappear 
from sight," kage, " a shadow," " a phantom," kagayaku, " to shine," ki, " spirit," 
kuma, " a dark spot," knshibi, " strange," " supernatural." Hatla Tomonori has 
advanced a similar view and suggests a comparison of kami with such forms as 
kasuka, " dim," " vague," kakur;, " isolation," " hidden," kaze, " wind," kasumi, 
" haze," " mist." On this basis he proposes that kami is possibly a combination of 
ka with the primary meaning of " vagueness " or " indistinctness " and mi, from 
mi-tsiuu, " to be full of," hence " full of vagueness." Cf. Maruyama, op. cit., p. 34. 

3. Miura, op. cit., p. 129. 



I46 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

(6) Tanaka Yoshito, although attempting something of a 
compromise *view, finds the idea of mystery entering into kami 
as one of its important elements. At the same time he charac- 
teristically seeks to preserve unique aspects in favor of the super- 
iority of the Japanese conception. " If we summarize briefly 
the content of kami" he says, " we may say that it includes 
the ideas of aboveness and of mystery also those of superiority 
and glorious presence (shorin or kagamiru). 1 My opinion 
is that any object that possesses these peculiarities and attributes 
is kami. Today among actual living people there are those 
who are kami and who may be called arabito garni (incarnate 
kami). Among our ancestors of the past those who possessed 
one, two, or all of these attributes just named are kami. Ac- 
cordingly, this is not the abstract deity found in occidental 
monotheism. That is, it is not arbitrarily produced by poets, 
philosophers and religionists. The Japanese kami is equipped 
with human personality. The foreign idea of deity differs 
greatly." 2 

(7) Professor Miyaji Naoichi 3 declares that the fundamental 
meaning of kami is " possessing superhuman power." He says, 
" Regarding the meaning of kami : Our Japanese race which 
has possessed an extremely stable faith from the time of the 
beginning of the establishment of the state, has designated the 
objects of daily worship by the general term kami. Even if we 
express the idea with the ideograms shin (deity) or shingi 
(deities of heaven and earth) yet the various meanings of kami 
are not by any means unified thereby. Furthermore, the idea 
of kami has undergone great changes in passing through the ages. 
I intend to speak of what is lodged in the characteristic thought 
of our people. 

r * HuEim- Tanaka's meaning is not altogether clear here. The ideograms 
can be read lerashite nozomu, " shining, to look upon." Cf. the view of Imibe 
given above. 

2. Tanaka, Y. Shinto Hongi, p. 131. ... . . 

3. Lecturer on Shinto history in the Imperial University of Tokyo. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 47. 

" It is not easy to determine the etymology of kami. If, 
however, we consider the actual usage of the term, it may be 
said that the most fitting interpretation assigns a general meaning 
of ' possessing superhuman power.' This was noted long ago 
by earlier writers. Consequently, the scope of the term is ex- 
ceedingly broad and extends into various diversifications. Thus 
kaini may be superior or the opposite ; they may be righteous 
or evil. Such ideas are not by any means limited to past ages." 1 

The foregoing inventory of Japanese opinions contains some 
etymologies and interpretations that are fanciful and impossible ; 
others are remarkably suggestive and expressive of genuine psy- 
chological insight. Whether fanciful or sound they may at least 
serve to indicate that the offhand dogmatism which denies the 
existence of superhuman or supernatural elements in the meaning 
of kami is not supported by the authority of Japanese scholars 
who have made the actual religious life of the people an object 
of careful investigation. As the next step in our stud)/ it is 
necessary to attempt to gather together the different meanings of 
kami, giving as far as possible examples of the actual, historical 
usage. 

The various meanings of kami may be listed as follows : 

I. That which is strange, fearful, mysterious, marvelous, 
uncontrolled, or beyond human comprehension (liakaru bekara- 
zaru koto) ; extraordinary experiences that produce unusual 
emotions such as the frenzy of religious dances, or outstanding 
objects that throw the. attention into special activity, such as tall 
trees, high mountains, thunder and lightning ; implements of 
magic such as sacred mirrors and jewels ; uncanny animals such 
as foxes, tigers and wolves. 

In the Nikon Shoki two mountain wolves are called kas/ii- 
koki kami, " fearful deities." 2 The Manyoshu speaks olOkiicJd 



1. Miyaji, Naoiehi, Shingi Shi Koy'o (^i&il[— , PMJ^BIS "Outline 
History of the Deities of Heaven and Earth," Tokyo, 1919/, pp- 4-5. 

2. N., p. 367 ; A., II, p. 36. 



J 48 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

no magami, " Great-Mouthed-True-A^w/," 1 which, as Arakida 
suggests, may be identified as a reference to the wolf, fearful 
because of his big mouth. The Fudoki says, tl In Asuka there 
is an okami (wolf) who has eaten many people ; the people of 
the country in fear call it Great- Mouthed- Atf/////' 2 The modern 
Japanese colloquial for wolf is still okami. The Nihon Shoki 
similarly speaks of the tiger as kashikoki kami, " fearful deity." a 
The Manyoslm mentions the tora to iu kami, " the kami called 
tiger." 4 The extraordinary appearance of white animals led to their 
being accorded special ceremonial treatment. The appearance of 
a white deer was a supernatural portent. 5 White sparrows, 
white pheasants, white crows, white swallows, white falcons, 
white owls, white moths, and white foxes were all good omens. 6 
The fox images found at the Inari shrines of modern Japan are 
generally white. White snakes are still the objects of supersti- 
tious regard. 

The " Eight Great Kami of Idzushi " spoken of in the 
Kojiki are two strings of beads, " a wave-shaking scarf," " a 
-wind-cutting scarf" [i.e. "a scarf to raise the waves and a 
scarf to still the waves, a scarf to raise the wind and a scarf to 
still the wind "], 7 " a mirror of the effing " and " a mirror of 
the shore." 8 The necklace of jewels which Izanagi bestowed 
on the Sun Goddess was called Mikura-t ana-no- kami, " Aug List- 
Store-house-Shelf-A'tf////." 9 The sword which subdued the 



1. Manyoshn,^ 742, No. 1636. Ed. by Watanabe Daisaburo and Watanabe 
lumio, Tokyo, 1877. 

2. Cited in G. Kato, Waga Kokutai to Shinto, p. 139. 

3. N.,p. 387. 

4. Manyoshuy op. at., p. 786, No. 3885. 

5. A., 1, p. 297. 

6. A., pp. 124, 174, 236-7, 239, 252, 286, 322, 326, 352, 410. See also 
"De Wisser, M W., 'I he Fox and the Badger in Japanese Folklore, T. A. S. J.,, 
Vol XXXVI, Pt. Ill, pp. 13, 29, 30. 

7. Q . C, p. 261, note 17. 

8. Ibid., p. 261. 

9. Ibid., p. 43. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. I49 

savage deities of Kumanu was called Sazhi-futsu-no-kami, 
" Thrust-Broad- A^w/." 1 

Izanagi's marvelous sword was called Itsu-no-wo-ha-bari-no- 
kami, " Majestic-Point-B'Iade- Extended- Kami"* The peaches 
with which he held back the eight thunder-^/;// and the five 
hundred warriors of Hell were called O-kamu-dzh-nu-no-mikoio, 
" Wonderful-Thing- Great-Divine Fruit." 3 The rock with which 
he blocked up the Pass of Hell was called Michi-gaesJri-no-o-kami , 
" Great- Kami-oi-the Road-Turning-Back." 4 The staff with 
which the same hero drove back the thunders was Funado-no-kami^ 

Kami nari, " sounding kami" may mean either thunder or 
lightning (thunderbolt). The thunder god is Ika-dzuchi-no~ 
kami, " Terrible Hammer-/^////," 8 or Take-mika-dzuchi-no-kami 
" Brave- Awful- Hammer- Kami." 7 The Manyoshu indicates the 
popular beliefs that lie back of the usage when it says that it is 
fearful to see the kami who flashes near the clouds and roars. 8 

Kamu, which appears to be an older form of kami, has a 
similar usage. The frenzy exhibited by Uzume-no-mikoto in her 
dance before the Sun Goddess is called kamu-gakari, " kamu- 
possession." 9 In the Manyoshu the words of the Shinto 
priest, which caused the safe passage of the boats in the bay of 
Sumi, are called kamu goto, "kamu words." The wind that 

1. Ibid., p- 135. 

2. Ibid., pp 34, 100. 

3. Ibid., p. 37 ; also A , I, p. 30. 

4. C, p. 38. 

5. A., I, p. 30. 

6. A., I, p. 29. See also T. A. S. J., Vol. VII, PY IV, pp. 414-15. 
. 7. A., I, p. 115. 

8. For reference see Kato, op. cit., p. 131. 

9. Cf. Shibugcnva, Genji, Santai Kojiki (%)\\~&%, HH"fi*^il, " Tri ' 
partite Kojiki," Tokyo, 1916), p. 44. 

10. Sumi no e ni 

Itsuku hafuri ga 
Kamu goto to ; 

Yuku to mo ku to mo t . 

Inline w'a Jiaya ke mzi. — ISlanydshu, op. cit., No. 4243. 



I50 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

blows from the sacred shrine of Watarahi is kamu kaze, " kamu 
wind." 1 The conclave of the deities of heaven is kamu hakari, 
"kamu consultation." 2 A kamu-toko is a sacred place for 
worshipping the kami. Kamu-gaki signifies the sacred fence or 
inclosure about a shrine. Kamu-kai is sacred rice presented to 
the kami. In the ancient records certain sacred persons are 
called kamu, as Kamu-Yamato-ihare-biko , " Sacred- Yamato-I- 
hare-Prince," the first Emperor according to tradition. Kamu, 
both in form and meaning, strongly suggests the Polynesian term 
tabu. The sacred chiefs of Polynesia who can trace their pedi- 
grees back to the gods are arii tabu, " chiefs sacred." A temple 
is wahi tabu, <( place sacred." Kamu here has a ceremonial 
and not an ethical significance ; that is, the kamu object is sacred 
because it is taboo. 

2. Spirits and deities of nature. In this sense kami is 
used of the spirits and deities of earth, sun, moon, stars, storm, 
thunder, lightning, earthquake, fire, wind, rain, volcanoes, 
mountains, rocks, seas, rivers, river mouths, waves, wells, trees, 
grasses, herbs, growth, vegetation, harvest, etc. 3 

3. The spirits of ancestors, especially great ancestors, i.e. 
emperors, national heroes, wise men and saints. The great kami 
of the mythological period, such as Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami, Iza- 
nagi, Izanami, and Susa-no-zvo-no-mikoto, are officially recog- 

The meaning of the poem appears to be, " By the kamu words of the conse- 
crated priest, the ships in the bay of Sumi, whether they go or whether they 
come, they pass in safety." 

1. Watarahi no 

Itsuki no Miya yu, 
Kamu kaze ni 

Ibuki madowashi 
Ama gumo wo ; 

Hi no me mo miezu. — Manyoshu, op. cit., p. 704, No. 199. The 
sense may be rendered : " By the kamu breeze that blows from the sacred shrine 
of Watarahi |Jse] the clouds are scattered about; the eye of heaven is unseen." 

2. Manvoshu, op. a'/., p. 703, No. 167. 

3. Cf. A., I,*pp. 1-63; C, pp. 1-34, 39-43, 45-49; Aston, Shinto the Way 
of the Gods, pp. 121-176. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 5 1 

nized in this sense. The orthodox interpretation attempts to 
make out that the personages just named are Japanese culture 
heroes. Japanese history abounds in records of famous human 
beings who at death were apotheosized and made the objects of 
general worship. Inouye Tetsujiro says, " All famous human 
beings become kami. This is true of Kwanko [Sugazva Michi- 
zane], Nanko \_Kusiinoki Masashige], Kitabatake Chikafusa, Nltta 
Yoshisada, Nawa Nagatoshi, Ninomiya Sontoku, Yoshida Shoin, 
and others." 1 

4. Superior human beings in actual human society, i.e. 
high government officials such as heads oi departments and 
bureaus (ancient usage), feudal lords of the old regime, governors, 
emperors. 

Among the names of the Daimyo, who at the time of the 
Restoration, " begged to be allowed to restore their fiefs to the 
Sovereign " are abundant examples of the use of kami as a state 
title, e.g. Shimazit Awaji no Kami, Matsndaira Deiua no Kami, 
Hisamatsu Iki no Kami, Nagai Hizen no Kami, and numerous 
others. 2 The Shoku Nikongi under the date of 698 A.D. (24th 
day, seventh month) speaks of the governor of the province of 
Ise as Kami? The " Chief of the Administration of the Ise 
Shrines " was called Saign no Ka/?u. 4 

A poem in the Manyoshu, dated the first year of Reiki 
(715 A.D.) speaks of the ruler as Sumerogi no Kami, " Sov- 
ereign Kami." 5 A passage in the Shoku Nihongi reads, " The 
manifest god, descendant of the Goddess of High Heaven, he 
who now rules over the country of the eight great islands, His 



1. Cited in Tanaka, T., Shindo Kwanken,^. 6. 

2. Cf. Phoenix, Nov. 1870, pp. 63-4. Kami in this sense is generally 
written ^f, " a lord," " a governor.''' 

3. T. J. S. L., Vol. XV (1916-17), p. 156. 

4. Ibid., p. 182. The Saigu of Ise was a virgin princess of the Blood en- 
gaged in the service of Ama-ferasu-o-mi-kami. The period ol service ended only 
with the death of the Saigti or with the death or abdication of the emperor. 

5. Manyoshu, op. cit., p, 706, No. 230. 



1 52 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

Majesty Yamato Neko no Mikoto" 1 The Nihongi similarly 
speaks of " The God Incarnate, the Emperor Yamato Neko, who 
rules the world." 2 Important personages in the social and poli- 
tical life here become living kami and the usage in this sense 
implies attitudes of respect, reverence and caution on the part 
of the shimo — all below the kamL On the other hand, 
there is no evidence that such kami ever during actual life- 
time became the centers of organized cult and received worship 
at the shrines. 

5. The government itself, colloquial usage. Kami no on 
sata is " a government order." 5 

6. Above in space ; superior in location. 4 Hito no kami 
ni tatsu is " to stand above others." Hashigami {Jiashi-kami) 
is " above the bridge." Kawakami is used to indicate the upper 
waters of a stream in contradistinction with kawa-shimo, the 
lower. The blind masseur as he walks the streets in the evening 
still calls out, " Amma, kami shimo sambyaku mon, massage, 
from head (kami) to foot (s/iimo) three hundred mon." Further 
usages in this same sense are : one superior in age, a master, 
the first part of a thing, the upper part of a town, of the body, 
or of clothing, the first section of a Japanese poem, the direction 
oi the imperial palace or the capital, the first fifteen days of a 
month or the first ten days of a month. Okami-san is a term of 
respect for the wife of another in lower class usage. 

7. In a temporal sense, " the upper times," i.e. antiquity 
(rare). 

8. The hair on the human scalp. 5 

9. Paper. 6 



1. Trans, by J. Carey Hall, T. J. S. L., Vol. XV (1916-17), p. 152. 

2. A., II, p. 210. 

3. Cf. Inouye, Jukichi, Comprehensive Japanese-English Dictionary 
Tokyo, 1921), p. 1063. Kami in this sense is written £. 

4. Written _£. So also for meaning number 7 given above. 

5. Written §|. 
h. Written^. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 53 

10. Deity ;* God ; " The God of Heaven," (Ama tsu 
Kami) ; the Christian God ; " The Lord of High Heaven " 
{Tenjo no Shusai, Jotei, Tentei, Ten). These usages represent 
to a considerable extent the results of syncretism with Indian, 
Chinese, and Occidental thought. 

In considering the above diversity of usage the question 
naturally arises as to whether there is not some possibility of 
arriving at a point of view which gives a unified perspective to 
ideas connected with the word kami. Revon who has made 
a most persistent attempt to unify the usage, after mention- 
ing the difficulty that Japanese scholars have had in coming 
together on any plausible etymology, finally concludes that the 
only possible explanation is that which rests on the general sense 
of kami in the Japanese language which should be translated 
simply by the word super ieur. Working from this point of 
view he finds a unity of such scope as to include even the mean- 
ing " paper " which is superior because of its special importance 
in the life of the Japanese people, particularly as the " precious 
preserver of tradition/' 2 

Is this all that can be said, however, of an expression that is 

i. Written jff. Under kami thus written the Dai Nihon Kokugo Jiten 
(Vol. J, A-ki, pp. 938-9) classifies the following meanings : 

(1) Those personages who lived in Japan prior to Jimmu Tenno. • 

(2) A sacred influence which is regarded as dwelling in the unknown, 
which knows that which is unknown to man, which works in all things and 
which brings happiness and misfortune on mankind. 

(3 A term of respect for the Emperor. 

(4) Spirits of human beings enshrined in the Jmja after death. 

(5) The God of Christianity, the creator and governor of the universe. 

(6) A term used to designate all fearful things {Subete osoroshiki mono 
no she). 

(7) Things that are beyond human comprehension. 

(8) Thunder. 

[(9) A jester, a buffoon, a drum beater who entertained at public houses 
in former times (rare)]. 

2. Revon. M., " Le Shintoisme," Revue de VHistoire des Religions, Vol. 
XLIX, p. 28. 



154 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

used to cover man's experiences with deities, ghosts, spirits of 
ancestors, and extraordinary members of human society — all those, 
who in the words of Maruyama, "excel indignity, in ability, 
in virtue, in learning, or in shrewdness " — -a word that is applied 
not only to that which is above but als^ to magical charms, to 
foxes, wolves and tigers, to trees, stumps, echoes, rocks, moun- 
tains and seas, to dragons and goblins, to thunder and lightning 
— to " all things whatsoever in the world which possess marvel- 
ous and strange virtue " P 1 

In attempting to answer this question, one is immediately 
reminded of that considerable list of similar religious terms in 
other languages which the researches of modern investigators of 
primitive culture have brought to light— such terms as Maria of 
the Melanesians, Tabu of the Polynesians, Kamui of the Ainu, 
Kramat of th 2 Malays, Tondi of the Bataks of Sumatra, Andria- 
manitra of the natives of Madagascar, Orenda of the Iroquois, 
Wakanda of the Sioux, Manitou of the Algonquins, Ngai or 
Engai of the Masai, Mulungu of the Yao tribe of the Bantu 
peoples, Oudak of the Pigmies, Inkosi of the Zulus, Tilo of the 
Baronga, Hasina of Malagasy, Atua of the Maori, Kalou of 
the Fijians, Arungquiltha of the Australian Arunta, the old 
Norse hamingja and the makt of Swedish folklore. 

Modern students of the elementary forms of the religious 
life have, made use of the term Maria as a convenient name for 
expressing the uniformity of emotional reaction and resultant 
classification and interpretation of experience which these various 
words connote in the philosophy of primitive man. 2 The hypo- 
thesis is here advanced that the Japanese term Kami belongs to 
the Mana type of religious classification. Kami is essentially the 
same in meaning as Maria. In supporting this statement it is 
necessary to indicate more fully the most important elements in 
the meanings of the terms just listed. 



i. Hirata. See above p. 139. 

2. Cf. Marett, R. R., « The Conception of Mana," Transactions of the 
Third International Congress for the History of Religions, Vol. I, pp. 46-57. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 55 

Mancty in the religious philosophy of the Melanesians, 1 may- 
be defined as a marvellous wonder-working force manifested in 
any object or being that exhibits unusual power or superiority. 
Codrington says, " There is a belief in a force altogether distinct 
from physical and in a way supernatural .... This inana 
is not fixed in anything, and can be conveyed in almost anything." 
Also, while " it essentially belongs to personal beings to origi- 
nate it," it may nevertheless appear in such humble objects as 
water, stones, or bones. In more specific illustration of ideas 
related with the term he says, " If a man has been successful in 
fighting, it has not been his natural strength of arm, quickness of 
eye, or readiness of resource that has won success ; he has cer- 
tainly got the tnana of a spirit or of some deceased warrior to 
empower him, conveyed in an amulet of a stone round his neck, 
or a tuft of leaves in his belt, in a tooth hung upon a finger of 
his bow hand, or in the form of words with which he brings 
supernatural assistance to his side. If a man's pigs multi- 
ply, and his gardens are productive, it is not because he is in- 
dustrious and looks after his property, but because of the stones 
full of mana for pigs and yams that he possesses. Of course a 
yam naturally grows when planted, that is well known, but it 
will not grow very large unless mana comes into play ; a canoe 
will not be swift unless mana be brought to bear upon it, a 
net will not catch many fish, nor an arrow inflict a mortal 
wound." 2 

Marett summarizing from Tregear indicates the usage of 
mana in the wider Polynesian field. Mana is applied, in Maori, 
"to a wooden sword that has done deeds so wonderful as to 
possess a sanctity and power of its own ; in Samoan, to a parent 
who brings a curse on a disobedient child ; in Hawaiian, to the 
gods, or to a man who by his death gives efficacy to an idol ; in 
Tongan, to whoever performs miracles, or bewitches ; in Man- 



1. Cf. Codrington, R. EL, Melanesians (Oxford 189I), p. 118, note I. 

2. Ibid., p. 120. 



I56 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO- 

garevan, to a magic staff given to a man by his grandfather, or, 
again, to divination in general." 1 The term is also applied to a 
tribal chief, a healer of sickness, a successful pleader, or the 
winner of a race. The psychological basis of the mana idea 
may be said to lie in a naive interpretation of emotional reactions 
originating in experiences lying outside the regions of ordinary 
control. 2 

Tabu in its original, local usage among the Polynesians 
is to be understood as a form of the mana-\dez. Behind the 
ideas of separation from ordinary usage and appropriation to 
special persons and things, is the more fundamental notion of 
sacredness. The psychological origin of this feeling of sacred- 
ness expressed in tabu is undoubtedly to be found in an emotional 
expansion or " thrill " in the presence of anything that thrusts 
itself on the attention in a sudden or extraordinary manner. 3 

The exceedingly diversified content of the Ainu term kamui 

1. Tregear, E., Maori- Polynesian Cojnparative Dictionary, (Wellington, 
N.Z., 1 89 1), s.v. mana. Lf. Marett, op. cit., p. 49. 

2. For literature on mana, in addition to Codrington, Marett, and Tregear 
as given above, see also Durkheim, Emile, The Elementary Forms of the Reli- 
gious Life (Eng. trans, by Joseph Ward Swain from Les formes elementaires de la 
vie religieuse, Paris, 1912 , pp. 61, 62, 188-239; Marett, R. R., art. "Mana," 
H.E.R.E., Vol. VIII, 375 ff. ; Ames, Edward Scribner, The Psychology of Reli- 
gious Experience, pp. 95-115; Soderblom, N., " Holiness " (General and Primi- 
tive) in H.E.R.E., Vol. VI, pp. 731-32 ; Hubert and Mauss, " Theorie Generale de 
la Magie " in L? Annee Sociologique, VII (1904); Marett, R.R., " Pre -Animistic 
Religions," in Folklore, XI (1900), pp. 162-182 ; Lovejoy, Arthur O., " The 
Fundamental Concept of the Primitive Philosophy," Monist (1 906), XVI, pp. 
357-382; King, Irving, The Development of Religion,'^- 132-164; Leuba, J., A 
Psychological Study of Religion, pp, 70-84, 122 ff., 163; Goldenweiser, A.A., 
" Spirit, Mana, and the Religious Thrill," Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and 
Scientific Methods, (1915), XII, pp. 632-640 ; Dewey, John, "The Interpretation 
of the Savage Mind," Psychological Review, 1902. 

3. Cf. Tregear, E., Maori- Polynesian Comparative Dictionaiy, s.v. " Tabu," 
especially remarks under Hawaiian usage ; Ames, Psychology of Religious Ex- 
perience, p, 108; Thomas, N. W., Art. "Taboo," En. B., Vol. XXVI, pp. 337 ff.; 
Frazer, J. H., Golden Bough, I, 297-464; III, 1-134, 201-236, 463-467; 
Churchill, Wm., Polynesian Wanderings, (Washington, 1911), pp. 263, 
264. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 57 

is to be seen in the following list of usages, " the maker of worlds 
and places," i.e. the chief of all the kamui, the progenitor of the 
Ainu race, the sun, the moon, fire, ordina-y spirits such as those 
of storm, sea, springs, rivers, etc. bears, foxes, moles and wolves 
(when exhibiting extraordinary characteristics), autumn salmon, 
birds of good or bad omen, a locality remarkable for beauty 
or a place where fish and game aboYmd, high or rugged 
mountains or mountains where bears abound, government offi- 
cials and persons in high positions, e.g. the Emperor of Japan, 
beautiful flowers, pleasant dells, large trees, a cool breeze on a 
hot day, large waves of the sea, a " man-of-war " ship, a dog 
which has saved life, elephants, lions, evil spirits, reptiles, violent 
contagious diseases such as small-pox or cholera. 1 

The Malay word, Kramat is similarly applied to men, 
animals, plants, stones, etc. Blogden says, " When the word 
stands alone it almost invariably means a holy place, the word 
tempat being presumably understood. When applied to a per- 
son it implies special sanctity and miraculous power." 2 Kramat 
animals are generally marked by some extraordinary or uncanny 
characteristic, e.g. a shrunken foot, a stunted tusk, or albinism. 3 

Tondi, as in use among the Bataks signifies a mysterious 
force, power, or substance constituting the soul of man but 
appearing also in such objects as houses, boats, iron, animals, and 
plants (especially in rice). 4 

Ellis remarks concerning the natives of Madagascar, 
" Whatever is great, whatever exceeds the capacity of their 
understandings, they designate by the one convenient and com- 
prehensive appellation, Andriamanitra. Whatever is new and 
useful and extraordinary is called god. Silk is considered as 

1. Cf. T.AS.J., Vol. XVI, pp. 20-28 Concerning the possibility of the 
word kamui having been borrowed from Japanese usage as expressed in /.ami or 
vice versa, cf. discussions by Batchelor and Chamberlain in T.A S.A., op. cit., pp. 

17 ff -> PP> 33 ff - 

2. Cited in Skeat, W. W., Malay Magic (London, I900), p. 673. 

3. Cf. Skeat, of. cit., pp. 71, 153, 163. 

4. Warneck, Joh., Die Religion der Batak (Leipzig, 1909), pp. 8 ff., 46 ff. 



15^ THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

god in the highest degree, the superlative adjective being added 
to the noun — Andriamanitra-indrinda. Rice, money, thunder 
and lightning, and earthquake are all called god. Their ancestors 
and a deceased .sovereign they designate in the same manner. 
Tarantasy or book they call god, from its wonderful capacity of 
speaking by merely looking at it. Velvet is called by the singu- 
lar epithet, ' son of god.' m 

Among the Iroquois of North America, Qrenda indicates 
the mystic potency found in any extraordinary object of 
experience. 2 It is found in " the speech and utterance of birds 
and beasts, the soughing of the winds, the voices of the night, the 
moaning of the tempest, the rumble and crash of the thunder, 
the startling roar of the tornado, the wild creaking and cracking 
of wind-rocked and frost-riven trees, lakes and rivers, and the 
multiple other sounds and noises in nature." 3 Orenda may 
manifest itself in the shaman, in the skillful hunter, in prophets 
and soothsayers, in any man or animal who exhibits extra- 
ordinary prowess or cunning, in storms, charms, amulets, 
fetishes, or mascots, and in plants, trees, rocks, mountains, 
water, clouds, or sky. 

Wakanda is a term used by the Sioux in connection with 
objects or persons regarded as possessing an unusual creative 
power, marvellous in operation. Wakanda was applied to a 
wide range of objects, such as mythological beings, sun, moon, 
earth, thunder, lightning, stars, storms, winds, certain plants, 
animals (such as bear, bison, and beaver), places of a striking 
character, blood, menstrual discharges, fetishes, ceremonial 
objects, the shaman, etc. 1 living King says of this term, 
" Whatever attracts attention in any way, or seems associated 

1. Ellis, History of Madagascar, I, 391-2, cited by Marett, " Pre -animistic 
Religion," Folklore, op. at., p. 169. 

2. Hewitt, J. N. B., " Orenda and a Definition of Religion," American 
Antliropoiogist, New Series, 1902, pp. 33, 45. 

3 Hewitt, op. cit. p. 36. 

4. Cf. McGee, Fifteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology >, 
« Washington (1897) pp. 157, 182 ff. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 59 

with any striking occurrence, is thought to possess in some mea- 
sure this mechanical, impersonal power. The wild animals, 
especially those characterized by cunning, fleetness, and great 
strength, were thought to owe it to some peculiarly intimate 
contact with this power. All human achievement, beyond the 
most commonplace, was not thought to be due to any special 
merit in the individual, but solely to his shrewdness or to his 
luck in making proper connections with Wakonda."\ 

In the philosophy of the Algonquins, Manitou is primarily 
a " mysterious quasi-mechanical essence, the active element in all 
that is strange, excellent, or powerful. " 2 In explanation of the 
psychological origin of the idea, William Jones has written, " To 
experience a thrill is authority enough for the existence of the 
substance." 3 The following citation, from Roger Williams 
indicates the wide application of the term. " There is general 
custom amongst them [American Indians] at the apprehension of 
any excellency in men, women, birds, beasts, fishes, etc., to cry 

out Manittoo if they see one man excel others in 

valor, strength, activity, etc., they cry out Manittoo 

and therefore when they talk among themselves of the English 
ships and great buildings, and especially of books and letters, 
they will end thus : Manittowock."* 

Thomson says of the Masai, " Whatever struck them as 
strange and incomprehensible, that they at once assumed has 
some connection with ngai I was Ngai. My lamp 

1. King, Irving, op. cit., p. 139. See alse Riggs and Dorsey, " Dakota- 
English Dictionary," Contrib. N. Amer. Ethnol., VII, p. 508 ; Dorsey, J. O., 
" Omaha Sociology," Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology (Wash- 
ington, 1884), pp. 211 ff., 267; Durkheim, op. at., pp. 192, 193, 195 ff., 199; 
Love joy, op. cit. pp. 363-68 ; Fletcher, Alice, " On the Import of the Totem among 
the Omahas," Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of 
Science, 1897, p. 326. 

2. King, op. cit., p. 137. 

3. Jones, Wm., "The Algonquin Manitou," Jou:nal of American Folk- 
Lore, Vol. XVIII, 1905, 183; cf. entire article, pp. 183-190. 

4. "Key to t lie Languages of America " (1643), Collections of the Rhode 
Island Historical Society, I, quoted in Lovejoy, op. cit.., p, 368. 



l6o THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

was Ngai" 1 The term is applied to rain, sky, volcanoes, sun, 
moon, morning and evening stars, clouds on the mountains 
steaming holes, deities, and spirits. 2 

Mulitngu of the Yao tribe of the Bantu, is regarded as the 
active agent in anything mysterious or beyond the range of 
human comprehension. It is employed, for example, in speaking 
of the rainbow, good luck, spirits, or deity. Heatherwick con- 
nects the etymology with kulungwa, signifying " great " or 
" old," saying, " It is the same root which appears in the Kaffir 
word for God, Unkirtiinkidu, which may therefore be rendered 
as ' The old, old One,' or ' The great, great One/ " 3 

Among the Pigmy people of Central Africa, the expression 
Oudah serves to indicate a mysterious force or spirit manifested 
in any object that " catches the attention in the moment of sur- 
prise." 4 Marett says of Pigmy philosophy at this point, " His 
knife acts normally as long as it serves him to trim his own 
arrow-shaft. As soon, however, as it slips and cuts his hand, 
there is ' oudah ' in, or at the back of, the ' cussed ' thing." 5 
Inkosi of the Zulus and the term Tilo among the Baronga may be 
taken as setting forth essentially the same elementary philo- 
sophy. 6 

Hasina of Malagasy has been defined as an * indwelling or 
supernatural power, which renders a thing good and effective ; 
the power of a medicine ; the truth of a word ; the efficacy of 
amulets and incantations ; the holiness of a thing." 7 

The Maori applied the term atua to all the incomprehensible 

1. Thomson, Joseph; Through Masai Land (London, 1885)^.445. 

2. Hollis, W. C, The Masai (Oxford, 1905), p. XIX. 

3. Heatherwick, A., " Some Animistic Beliefs among the Yaas of British 
Central Africa," Journal of Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 
Vol. XXXII, p. 94; cf. entire article pp 89-95. 

4. Ames, The Psychology of Religious Experience, p. 108. 

5. Marett, R. R., "Is Taboo a Negative Magic ? ", Anthropological Essays, 
p. 230 ; cited in Ames, op. at. 

6. Cf., Had don, Alfred C, Syllabus of Lectures on Magic and Primitive 
Religion. (London, 1905), p. 6. 

7. Soderblom, op. cit. 732. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. l6l 

activities of nature and to all supernatural beings and mysterious 
objects of any sort. " The strangers that first came among them 
sending thunder and lightning by the discharge of their fire-arms 
were real atuas. A watch, whose wonderful movements they 
did not understand, was an attia." 1 

ArungqitiitJia among the Australian Arunta is applied either 
to a supernatural, evil influence or to the object in which the 
influence is supposed to reside, such as bones, pieces of wood, 
poisonous animals or plants, the pointing stick of the medicine 
man, or the Churinga carried by the Illapiiringa woman (lit. 
"the changed," i.e., the avenging woman). 2 

The ancient Norse associated hamingja with the mysterious 
protecting genius of individuals and of clans. It was the super- 
natural element in luck and fate. 3 Makt is the mysterious 
' might ' or ' power ' of Swedish folk lore. Soderblom says, 
" Men and animals can be ' might-stolen ' (makt-stulna), through 
evil influence." 1 In other words, we meet here again a belief 
in a mysterious force or supernatural power that came and went 
in man and beast, under conditions that lay outside of ordinary 
control. 

The above list does not assume to be exhaustive, yet it is 
deemed sufficiently extended for the purposes of the present dis- 
cussion. The data just presented represent material gathered 
from the folk beliefs of all the grand divisions of the human race. 
An investigation of the usages connected with the various terms 
that have been brought under examination plainly indicates that, 
as far as diversity of content is concerned, the idea oikami presents 
no difficulties that students of religion have not already encoun- 
tered in other fields and explained with a considerable degree of 
scientific consistency. Prior to attempting to draw conclusions 

1. Featherman, Social History of the Races of Mankind, II, p. 207. 

2. Cf. Spencer and Gillen, Native Tribes of Central Australia, p. 548. 
Durkheim defines Arungquiltha as harmful mana. Elementaiy Forms of the 
Religious Life, p. 197. 

3. Soderblom, op. cit. 

4. Ibid. 



1 62 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

in the matter, however, it is necessary to consider Japanese 
usage relating to kami in the sense of hair on the human head. 

As has been suggested previously, the standard explanation 
of kami, taken in the sense of hair on the human head, finds in it 
support for assigning a primary meaning of " above " or " super- 
ior." In as much as kami is employed variously to indicate 
" deity," " above," and " hair on the human head," it requires 
but little analysis to isolate a common element of superiority in 
degree or position and assign priority to this sense. There- are 
important considerations, however, that bear against this inter- 
pretation. These considerations have to do with the fact that 
the hair on the human scalp is one of the principal objects of 
ceremonial treatment in Japan and, in both ancient and modern 
usage, presents aspects that would appear to justify an association 
with primitive supernaturalism or at least with the idea of mys- 
terious superhuman force. 

In considering the matter of the ceremonial treatment ac- 
corded human hair in Japan, it is important to bear in mind the 
special virtue which commonly attaches to hair as well as to the 
nails of toes and fingers, in lower culture generally. The hair 
on the human head is sacred. It is the seal of an oath, a charm 
against harm, and because of its intimate, sympathetic connection 
with the living body, itself, it is a powerful means of working 
magic ; it is an offering to the deities or to the dead ; it is an 
object of ceremonial treatment and an important means of com- 
munion with superhuman powers. 1 From the point of view of 
primitive man hair is a strange supercorporeal material that 
grows and changes form mysteriously on the body. It is thus 
filled with mana. Hence among the ancient Greeks, as well, as 

I Cf Durkheim, Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, pp, 64, 173 ff. ; 
Warneck, Die Religion der Batak, pp. 9, ff. ; Frazer, Golden Bough, I, pp. 44, 45, 
193, 244, 341-2, 344-5, 353-5, 524, 570; Skeat, Malay Magic, p. 45; E. E. 
Sikes and Louis. H. Gray, Art. " Hair and Nails," H.E.R.E., Vol. 6, pp. 474 ff. 
This last mentioned article should be consulted for further references and 
li erature. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 63 

certain other races, it was regarded as the seat of life, itself. 1 
Frazer says, with Polynesian usage especially in mind, " The 
head and hair, especially of a chief were particularly taboo or 
sacred — to touch a man's head was a gross insult. If a chief 
touched his own head with his fingers he had immediately to 
apply them to his nose and snuff up the sanctity which they had 
abstracted from his head. The cutting of a chief's hair was a 
solemn ceremony — the several locks were collected and buried 
in a sacred place or hung upon a tree." 2 Likewise among the 
Burmese the cutting of the hair of a king was a solemn and 
sacred act. 3 Similar usage obtained among the ancient Romans. 
Aulus Gellius, quoted by Fabius Pictor, says, " None but a 
freeman may cut a flamen's hair. He never touches or names a 

she-goat, raw-flesh, hair, or beans The parings of 

his nails and the cuttings of his hair are covered with earth at the 
foot of a fruit tree." 4 This usage would seem to be fairly open 
to the interpretation that under the old Roman idea hair and ' 
nails contained a mysterious power that imparted additional life 
to the fruit tree. The early Hebrews were acquainted with the 
idea that the hair on the human head was a source of marvelous 
strength which could be brought under control by cutting off 
the hair. 5 The scalp-lock of the American Indian was regard- 
ed as associating the owner with the mysterious and supernatural 
power that controlled his life and death. Alice Fletcher says, 
" For anyone to touch lightly this lock was regarded as a grave 
Insult." 6 

Sikes is of the opinion that the ancient widespread practice of 
leaving the hair uncut during a journey probably had its origin 

1. H.E.R.E., op. cit. 

2. Art. " Taboo," En. Brit., 9th ed. 

3. H.E.R.E., op. cit. 

4. Aulus Gellius, X, 15, Rome, 22, 285 Botsford, Source 01 Book of 
Ancient History, p. 339. 

5. Judges, 16: 17-31. 

6. Fletcher, Alice, Handbook of American Indians, cited in H.E.R.E., 
op. cit. 



164 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO, 

in a fear lest a stranger might come into possession thereof and 
work magic by means of the locks. 1 

Ideas of lucky and unlucky days for cutting nails and hair 
are common in early culture as well as are practices of caution in 
disposing of the cuttings. 2 Again, the idea is frequently met 
with that the mysterious potency in hair and nails can be brought 
to bear in the healing of sickness 3 This notion is further ex- 
tended to that of a wider rapprochement with nature. The 
Maori believed that the cutting of the hair on the human head 
might cause a thunderstorm. The Romans seem to have held 
a similar idea. 4 Against this briefly sketched background we 
may make comparison of Japanese ideas concerning the peculiar 
sanctity and mysterious nature of the hair on the human head. 

Human hair is frequently met with throughout Japan, pre- 
sented at temples and shrines, supposedly as an offering to the 
gods or as the binding symbol of a vow. Some shrines and 
temples possess great ropes of human hair, braided from the 
offerings of successive generations ot suppliants. The evidence 
is good that in ancient Japanese culture hair received ceremonial 
treatment and was regarded as sacred or taboo. Hair on the 
head was worn long by both males and females, 5 although each 
sex appears to have had a characteristic coiffure even in very 
ancient times 6 Men wore their beards long. 7 It is recorded 
in the Kojiki that when Haya-susa-no-wo-no-mikoto was expelled 
from the High Plain of Heaven for violent misdemeanor, his 
hair was cut off and his toe and finger nails were pulled out. 8 
Chamberlain properly calls attention to the cruelty in this latter 



1 H.E R.E., op. cit. 

2. Ibid. 

3. Ibid. 

4. Ibid. 

5- Of. C, pp. 73-4, 45- 

6. Cj. F., p, 76; C, Intro, pp. XLI-XLII. 

7. Cf. C, p. 44- 

8. Ibid, p. 59 (Sect. XVII). One of the Nihongi variants says the hair 
on the head of Stisa-no-wo was pulled out. Cf. A., I., 45 . 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. l6$ 

act but it is very questionable if, as he intimates, this form of 
treatment had its origin merely in a desire to inflict severe pain. 1 
The removal of the nails is to be taken along with the cutting of 
the hair. 2 The object aimed at is identical in both cases, not to 
inflict suffering, primarily, nor, again, to brand with disgrace, 
but to remove in an effectual way a mysterious source of power, 
that is to get control over the offending deity. The account 
plainly seems to say that in this way an attempt was made to 
limit Susa-no-wo in strength and sacredness. It is recorded 
again that Amaterasu-o-mi-kami as part of her preparation for a 
dangerous meeting with the same Susa-no-wo , unbound her 
" august hair " and twisted it again into " august bunches." 3 
The idea that the hair on the human head is a medium of com- 
munication with supernatural: powers still exists in modern Japan. 
Dr. M. Honda, writing of Omoto-kyo, has said, " The Omoto 
believers claim as a proof of the Japanese race being the gods' 
chosen people for the moral unification of entire humanity, that 
our hair has pith right up to the end while the white-skinned 
people's rnir is dead three or four inches from its end. This is 
why, they say, we Japanese are more susceptible to spiritual 
influences than any other race, the hair being the receiver of 
spiritual messages. They therefore keep their hair at least three 
inches long, bound together as close to the head as possible and 
let down the back when it is long enough." 4 The Japanese 
wrestler, to whom superior physical prowess is a prime necessity, 
still wears his hair long. When the successful wrestler retires 
from the ring, his hair is cut in a dignified religious ceremony. 5 
The cuttings of the hair are offered to the kami on the family 



1. C, Intro., p. LV. 

2. Cf. Art. " Hair and Nails," H.E.R.E., op. cit. 

3. Cf C, p. 45- _ 

4. M. Honda, " Omoto-kyo : What it is and Why it Spread," Japan 
Advertiser, Jan. 27, I921, p. 14. 

5. The order of service in this ceremony, as furnished by the priest of the 
Nomi no Sukune Shrine at Midori Cho, Honjo, Tokyo is as follows. 



1 66 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

god-shelf or, more often, presented at the shrine of ' Nomi-no-sukune , 
the patron god of wrestlers. 

The sacredness of the hair attaches to those objects that 
come closely in contact therewith. Especially is this true of 
combs. Hence, in Polynesian usage, for example, combs, par- 
ticularly those of sacred persons, are taboo, and are the objects 
of special ceremonial treatment. 1 That Japanese beliefs and 
customs exhibit an attitude of caution toward combs and a 
special regard for them is readily apparent upon examinalion of 
the evidence. When Izanagi prepared to enter the lower world 
in search of his lamented mate he is recorded to have broken 
off a large end tooth from the comb that was " stuck in the 
august left bunch " of his hair and after lighting this to have 

" Order of Service for the Hair-cutting Ceremony. 

On an elevated place in the room a sacred enclosure is made ready, sacred 
rope is hung and a rough straw mat is spread. 
The Purification Ceremony is performed. 

All make obeisance. 
The divine spirit is summoned. 

Warning at the coming of the kami\. 

All make obeisance. 
Offerings are presented. 
A Shinto priest recites norito. 

The principal offers tamagushi [a branch of sakaki with gohei attached]. 
The priest offers tamagushi. 
Visitors make congratulatory addresses. 
The principal expresses his thanks. 
Hair-cutting. 
The principal takes his place. The person who cuts the hair stands behind 

him with scissors in hand. He inserts the scissors. An attendant receives 

the hair and lays it in a convenient place. 
The principal retires at his convenience and adjusts his hair. 
Offerings are withdrawn. 
The divine spirit is sent away. 

Warning. All make obeisance. 
All retire." 

I. Cf. Frazer, Art. "Taboo," En. Brit., 9th ed. For an account of the 
use of combs in magic see Skeat and Blagden, Pagan Races of the Malay Penin- 
sula, Vol. I, pp. 148, 156, 492, 420 ff. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 6/ 

gone in. 1 Apparently slight details are important here. It is 
not by chance, for example, that the story says left bunch. In 
the light of Japanese custom, this was the side of peculiar 
potency and the use of the comb is to be interpreted as exhibit- 
ing an old idea that it constituted a powerful, protective device 
for Izanagi as he entered the dangerous confines of Yomi. 
Again when pursued out of the lower world by Yomo-tsu-shiko- 
me, the Ugly Female of Hades, his defense against her was to 
make use of hair ornaments. His head-dress, cast down in the 
path of the oncoming Fury, turned instantly to grapes which 
stayed her while she devoured them. In like manner the pieces 
of the comb in the hair on the right side of his head, when cast 
down upon the ground, changed to bamboo sprouts and " while 
she pulled them up and ate them, he fled on." 2 

The Nihongi introduces the observations of the ancient 
chronicler to the effect that the story of Izanagi and his marvelous 
combs furnished the occasion for the rise of the cautious attitude 
toward combs prevailing " at the present day " which made the 
people fearful of casting such objects away in the night-time. 3 
In the light of modern interpretations of the priority of customs 
as related to myths that embody or explain them, this comment 
in the Nihongi is to be taken as additional evidence for the 
existence in old Yamato culture of a special regard for the 
sanctity of hair ornaments. We read, again, that Susa-no-wo as 
a means of protecting the " Wondrous-Inada-Princess " from the 
eight-headed serpent of Koshi, transformed her into a comb 
which he stuck into his hair. 4 According to primitive ideas, 
no finer place of protection need be sought for ; not because the 
girl was concealed, but because she was made inviolable by the 
mighty taboo of comb and hair combined. Again, it was a 
lighted comb that constituted the protective device of Hoho- 



i. a, P . 35. 

2. Ibid., pp. 36-37. 

3. F., pp. 50-51. 

4. C, p. 62 ; F., p. 122. 



1 68 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

demi-no-mikoto when he broke the taboo of the parturition house 
and looked in on his wife in childbirth. 1 The black comb of 
the old man, Shiho-tsuchi-no-oji, when cast upon the ground 
changed instantly into "a multitudinous clump of bamboos." 2 
When the Saigu, or royal vestal virgin of Ise, was about to be 
sent away on her prolonged period of service at the Great Shrine, 
she was called to the palace and the emperor thrust a comb into 
her hair with his own hands. This was the zvakare no kushi, or 
" comb of separation." Thus the sojourn of the virgin princess 
at Ise was brought under the taboo of comb and hair. 3 Moto- 
ori, writing near the close of the eighteenth century, shows that 
a precautionary attitude toward combs existed in his own day. 4 
Messrs. Fujioka and Takagi, writing in the Nihon Hakkwa Dai 
Jiten have advanced the idea that the ancient practice connected 
with " the comb of separation " constitutes a possible explanation 
of why caution is exercised in presenting others with combs in 
modern Japan. 5 The Adzuma Kaga mi records the belief that 
the picking up of a cast off comb will result in the estrangement, 
of blood relations. 6 Modern Japanese folk-lore still preserves 
the old notion. 7 The belief is probably to be carried back to an 
origin in a practice in which the violation of the taboo of cast off 
hair ornaments induced such ceremonial defilement as to actually 
result in the alienation of even those nearest of kin. A related 
superstition of modern Japan requires that if a cast off comb is 
picked up some object of possession must be thrown away in 
its stead. 8 

In summary, then, it may be said that Japanese usage pre- 



i. A., I. p. 98. 

2. ibid., p. 96. 

3. Nihon Hakkwa Dai Jiten, Vol. Ill, p. 465. 

4. Cf. G, p. 42, note 9. 

5. Nihon Hakkwa Dai Jiten, op. cit. 

6. Adzuma Kagami, under the second year of Kencho (1250), 6th mo., 
.24th day. 

7. Nihon Hakkwa Dai Jiten, op. cit, 

8. Ibid. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 69 

sents unmistakable evidence of a precautionary attitude toward 
hair and hair ornaments. The Japanese ceremonial regard for 
hair is to be interpreted in the light of the supernatural associa- 
tions which we find in the treatment of hair in other ethnic areas. 
In the light of the evidence it does not seem incorrect to con- 
clude that the hair on the human head received its Japanese 
designation kami, not because of its superior position with refer- 
ence to the other parts of the body, but because it was associated 
with the idea of a mysterious and superhuman power. If it be 
objected that it is only the hair on the human scalp, that is, on 
the topmost part of the body, that is kami, it may be answered 
that a study of the ideas of primitive man will show that it is 
exactly the hair on the human scalp which is generally associated 
most directly with the mysterious workings of mana. The 
sacred hair of the American Indian was the scalp-look. 1 

The interpretation that kami belongs essentially to the mana 
type of religious classification is further elucidated by certain 
other considerations of an etymological character. From the 
very nature of the case this can not be advanced beyond 
the stage of probability, yet as far as it goes it gives support to 
the hypothesis herein set forth. Soderblom has already called 
attention to the fact that psychological analysis leads easily to 
the inference that early human reactions toward the extraordinary 
and startling objects of experience probably first expressed 
themselves in an exclamation or cry. 2 *Jn view of this psycho- 
logical inference the possibility arises that in the first syllabic 
element of the word kami we actually have the Japanese form of 
this primitive human cry. An extension of Miura's undeveloped 
hypothesis that certain Japanese words in the i^-series exhibit 

1. With regard to kami in the sense of "paper" it is possible that the 
only connection with kami as interpreted above is that of mere phonetic coinci- 
dence, or, again, it is possible, as Revon says, that paper is kami because it is 
" superior," that is of unusual importance in the social life of the Japanese people. 
It is to be noted, however, that the most widely used magical devices of Shint5, 
namely the gohei, are made of paper. 

2. Cf. H.E.R.E., Vol. 6., p 732. - 



I^O THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

a remarkable tendency toward bearing a content of mystery and 
strangeness, yields very suggestive results at this point. We 
may note a fairly inclusive group of apparently related ka forms 
in the Japanese language. 

Ka, an exclamation of surprise. Note nipa, nipa-ka, sud- 
denly ; ka-ba to, suddenly. 

Ka, the sign of interrogation or indefiniteness in Japanese 
syntax. This particle added to a clause or sentence indicates 
that the idea in the preceding words is indefinite, vague or un- 
grasped. The exclamatory form is probably the original of this 
interrogatory form. 

Ka, ka-ori, ka-za, odor, smell ; ka-gu, to smell. 

Ka, kami, hair. Cf. ka-pa, ka-ha, ka-wa, fur, skin, hide* 
The old form ka-pa, fur, seems to be made up from the elements, 
ka, hair, and pada, an ancient term for surface, especially the 
naked surface of the body. In modern Japanese the archaic 
form ka passes into ke, 

Ka-bu, ka-mu, ka-bi, ka-mi, 1 deity, sacred, etc. Cf. ogamu, 
to worship. 

Ka-bu, the stump of a tree. Motoori's statement that in 
ancient Japanese religion tree stumps were regarded as kami may 
be compared with the practices of the early Canaanites which 
made divinities of tree stumps, along with stone pillars, Asheras 
and Massebas. The original religious associations of the tree 
stump among the Canaanites were evidently phallic. 2 

Ka-bu, ka-buri, the head. The association here is possibly 
the widespread idea of primitive culture that the head is partic- 
ularly sacred or tabu} 

Ka-buru, to receive on the head [hence, kabuseru, to cover], 
to come under some influence and as a result to be impelled in a 

1. The form tabu of Polynesia assumes various similar phonetic variations, 
among them being, tambu, kabu kabu and kafiu. Cf. Churchill, Wm., Polynesian 
Wanderings, p, 264. 

2. Cf Hopkins, E., W., The History of Religions (New York, 1918), p. 
421. 

3. Cf. Art. « Head," H.E.R.E., Vol. 6, pp. 532-40. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. \Jl 

certain direction, to have a severe pain in the intestines or else- 
where, to break out with a skin eruption. Behind all these 
meanings there seems to be the idea of the operation of a hidden, 
mysterious influence. Given the idea of touching to the head as 
making sacred or taboo, it is easy to see how this may well be 
the case. In one meaning the operation of hidden influence is 
directly stated, while in the meanings, "to have a severe pain " and 
" to break out with a skin eruption," it is possible to discern, 
from the point of view of an ancient diagnosis, the idea of the 
activity of some mysterious agency. Note also in this connec- 
tion ka-bitre, a skin-eruption, poisonsing, good or evil influence, 
leaven. 

Ka-karu, to depend on, to hang, to afflict with, to be pos- 
sessed by, etc. 

Ka-ki, fence, boundary, enclosure. Cf. ki, tree. 

Ka-giru, to limit, to restrict. Cf. kiru, to sever, to divide, to 

limit. 

Ka-bi, mould, mildew, buds of plants. 

Ka-mosu, to brew. 

Ka-i, rice in the ear, a head of grain. The term appears in 
the ancient norito. 

Ka-zu, number ; kazu kazu, in great numbers. 

Ka-ji, rudder. 

Ka-gamaru, to be crooked, bent. 

Ka-ga-yaku, to shine, to glitter. Cf. yaku, to burn. 

Ka-kureru {v. z\), to hide, to disappear, to die, to perish. 

Ka-kusa (v. t.), to hide, to conceal. 

Ka-ku, to wane (of the moon), to be defective, to be broken, 
to be flawed, to lack. Cf. ku, kuru, to come. Also, kaku, to 
scratch, to write, to draw a picture. 

Ka-me, turtle, tortoise — used in ancient Japanese divination. 
The method of divination, which was perhaps borrowed from 
continental usage, was to heat the shell of the tortoise in fire and 
to read the marks left by the scorching. It is possible that me 
is here the same as me" eye," a word which has a large number of 



172 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

derivative meanings, among them " markings," as on measuring- 
sticks, dice, checkerboards, etc. 

Ka-ge, ha-ga, reflection, shadow ; divine influence, power, 
or help. Cf kagami, mirror. The ge or ga of kage (kaga), 
shadow, is perhaps the same as ke (ge), spirit, appearance, aspect. 
Cf. ke-muri, smoke ; ke-si, strange. 

Ka-ze> wind. Ze is possibly the same as the archaic term for 
wind, si or ski. For an example of the s-z mutation cf. si, sisi, 
sizi, thick. 

Ka-pa, ka-ha, ka-wa, river. In the application of ka to 
wind and river we may find, on the hypothesis here assumed, an 
indication ot early human reactions toward the mystery of moving 
air and water. 

Ka-suka, ka-soka, dim, faint, vagu&, distant and indistinct. 

Ka-sumi y haze. 

Ka-nasi, ka-nashi, sad, melancholy. 

Ka-siko, ka-shikoshi, awful, dreadful, venerable (derived 
meaning). 1 

All this may be nothing more than coincidence. Yet if 
coincidence is everything that can be said in the matter, surely it 
is most remarkable. The fact that we actually have, in the 
archaic Japanese language, a form in which ka appears as an 
exclamation of surprise lends considerable support to the conjec- 
ture that this original cry has entered into the composition of 
numerous other words that arose out of emotional reactions in the 
presence of whatever was mysterious, startling, unassimilated in 
the social life, or regarded as connected with some uncontrolled 
influence. Ka is undoubtedly one of the primary elements of 
original Japanese speech. It has the phonetic form of a most 
primitive cry. 2 It is not impossible that it came over into 
human speech out of pre-human articulation. 

The element mi in kami need not detain us. If the above 



1. On the above meanings consult Dai Nihon Kokugo Jilen, s.v. 

2. Cf. Aston, W.G., "Japanese Onomatopes and the Origin of Language," 
Jour. Anth. Inst., Vol. 23, pp. 332-62. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 73 

analysis has in it anything more than mere coincidence, then the 
mi syllable may be accounted for in the same sense as numerous 
other analogous forms in the Japanese language. It is possible, 
as Miura suggests, that it signifies substantiality or form. It 
may likewise be taken in the sense of the common suffix mi, 
similar in meaning to the English " ness," denoting quality or 
state, as in akami, " redness," (aka, " red "), omomi, " weight " 
(omoi, " heavy "), etc. In this sense kami would mean simply 
^^-ness. If either kamu or kabu is found to be original then the 
u-i mutation must be accounted for. This form of discussion, 
however, cannot be carried at present beyond the stage of con- 
jecture. Whatever the correct etymology of kami may be, the 
actual historical usage is as has been given in the preceding 
discussion. 

We may turn to the general summary of the argument of 
this chapter. In this connection it is to be said that unity is to 
be found in the different meanings of kami just as it is found, for 
example, in the various applications of mana or orenda. Ir» 
other words, kami is fundamentally a term that distinguishes 
between a world of ceremonially sacred things, thought of as 
filled with mysterious power, and a world of common things 
{shimo) that lie within the control of ordinary technique. 

Although upon examination of the meanings of the various 
terms from the ethnic fields that have been just considered, 
minor differences can be distinguished, dependent primarily 
upon variation in geographical and social factors, yet in their 
general applications all the forms are identical. From a psycho- 
logical standpoint they are markers for the " super -ordinary," 
spirit world of primitive man. Even in their detailed meanings 
there is remarkable similarity. The ceremonial regard for white 
snakes, white foxes, white birds, etc., in Shintd is to be matched 
with the Malayan belief in which animals that exhibit albinism 
are kramat, that is connected with a mysterious, superhuman 
power. Izanagi's staff which was kami is repeated in the magic 
staff of the Manga revan which was mana. The same is true of 



1/4 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

Izanagi's sword. The wonderful sword of the Maori is mana. 
Among the natives of Madagascar the book of the European 
which could speak when merely looked at was " god." To 
the Masai a lamp was a mysterious being. The Ainu called the 
European warships kamui. Among the Algonquins, English 
ships and great buildings were manitoo. The Japanese peasants 
propitiated the first foreign-style houses that they saw. All these 
usages originate in the same fundamental emotional reactions. 
That elementary Japanese world view which finds kami in sun, 
moon, sky, fire, storm, thunder, lightning, earthquake, sea, 
rivers, springs, water, plants, trees, rocks, mountains, foxes, 
wolves, badgers and men is seen, on actual investigation, to be 
based on a primitive human experience which reaches back in 
time to an unknown antiquity and which in geographical exten- 
sion fairly covers the earth. The Shinto practice which makes 
kami of emperors, of ancestors and of individuals of " superior 
merit," is to be analyzed and accounted for with exactly the 
same psychological apparatus as is used, for example, in explain- 
ing the fact that the living shaman and the great chiefs of the 
Sioux are regarded as having made mysterious connections with 
wakanda, or that in Madagascar ancestors and deceased sov- 
ereigns are andriamanitra. 

All the terms that have been^examined reflect attitudes and 
emotions of caution, awe, fear, wonder, reverence or expansion 
in the presence of a great mass of experiences with various sorts 
of objects in the environment in which man has found himself. 
These diverse objects are, nevertheless, united in this, that all, in 
one way or another, are extraordinary, new, terrifying, or of 
unusual significance, that is unassimilated or not fully controlled 
in the ordinary life of the individual and the group, and thus to 
be guarded against with precautionary ceremony. The unique 
object of experience, whether sun, moon, storm, wind, thunder, 
lightning, strange tree, aged stump, stone of odd shape, uncanny 
animal, skillful hunter, great chief or mighty sovereign — whatever 
it may be — induces an unusual emotional response. This is the 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. I?$ 

" religious thrill." For the sake of exactness we may, perhaps 
better, adopt the old Japanese exclamation or cry and call it a 
^-emotion or a ^-reaction. This demotion lies at the very 
basis of primitive supernaturalism ; or, if " supernaturalism " 
seems to imply a distinction that early man never knew, it may 
be said that this emotional reaction lies at the basis of all primi- 
tive philosophy of the supsrordinary. In arriving at this philo- 
sophy primitive man simply makes a generalization of his separate 
experiences. The /^-emotion throws the attention into special 
activity, a " watch out " attitude is induced, the emotion is found 
to repeat itself in contact with a multitude of diversified objects 
which externally appear to have no connection whatsoever. 
Nevertheless the uniformity of the emotion becomes the ground 
on which the intelligence posits the existence of a corresponding 
agency operating as a uniform cause in all the various objects 
that have stimulated the emotion itself. This is kami ; it is mana 
or orenda. In other words since there is no place for the unique 
object in the ordinary, well-known, everyday world, it is put 
into a mysterious, " over- head " world and treated with a special 
technique ; it is either in and of itself kami, or kami appears in 
it as a marvel- working force. Precautionary ceremonial handling 
of such objects becomes all important and these precautionary 
activities themselves become sacred customs and sacred rituals. 

With such conclusions in mind it hardly needs to be pointed 
out that the kami-idea, of Shinto does not have its busis in an 
original pantheistic world view. Old Shinto is not pan-psychism 
or hylozoism. 1 Nor, again, is the original idea o( kami an ancient 
recognition of the revelation of the " Great Life of the Universe."" 
The psychological analysis of the Japanese idea and a comparison 
with the usages of other fields leaves absolutely no remainder to 
be accounted for under such terms as pantheism or pan-psychism. 

Modern Shinto still preserves the ancient philosophy of 
kami. . Mr. T. Kanamori, writing from the standpoint of the 

1. See above p. 4. 

2. See above p. 102. 



1/6 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

rank and file of the Japanese people, has given a statement of 
present day ideas regarding kami that might almost serve as a 
definition of mana. " The Japanese term kami, in a word, 
indicates anything that possesses power that is superior to the 
human. It is not limited to men. Birds, beasts and insects, in 
case they are regarded as possessing mysterious force are imme- 
diately looked upon as kami. Old foxes, old badgers, big 
snakes, centipedes, all are worshipped as kami. If a great tree 
is found standing out conspicuously in the forest, it is said, ' in 
that tree dwells a tree-spirit/ and immediately a sacred rope (shime 
nawa) is hung about it. A great rock is worshipped as O-iwa-dai- 
myo-jin (' Big-Rock-Great- Wonderful-God '). Also there are 
people who worship the sun, moon and stars as kami." 1 

A recently published study, entitled Ujigami to Ujiko, 
" Tutelary Deities and their Proteges," takes up the account of 
the existing religious life of the Japanese people as it centers in 
the Shinto shrines. Although the investigation is far from 
systematic, yet it does present first-class evidence going to . show 
the extent to which the old kami-i&ea. is still central in modern 
Shinto. According to this book the kami worshipped at the 
shrines include the following : " the three kami of creation " 
who appear at the very beginning of the Kojiki, namely Ame-no- 
mi-naka-nusJii-no-kami, Taka-mi-musubi-no-kami, and Kami-mn- 
suU-no-kami ; the two great parents of the race, Izanagi and 
Izanami ; the two great ancestors of the Imperial Line, namely 
Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami and Susa-no-wo-no-mikoto ; other ancestral 
kami, both of the Imperial Family and of the common people ; 
O-kimi-mishi-no-kami, " who governs the Hidden World " ; the 
moon god (Tsuki-yomi-no-mikoto) ; the great food-goddess 
(Uke-mochi-no-kami) ; the harvest god {Mi-toshi-no-kami) ; the 
kami of the five elements, i.e. of wind, fire, metal, water and 
earth ; kami of the sea, of grasses, of trees, of mountains, of 
rivers, of river-mouths, of the distribution of water, of wells, of 

I. Kanamori, Tsurin, Shinko no Susume (##j'I^ frfTOS&^s " An 
Exhortation to Faith," Tokyo, 1916), pp, io-Ii. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. \JJ 

kitchens (Kamado-no-kami), of gateways and of privies (Kawa- 
ya-no-kami) ; patron kami of tradesmen such as the kami of 
carpenters or the kami of smiths ; patron kami of one's birth- 
place ; kami who protect the coming and going of ships ; phallic 
kami (Saruta-hiko-no-kami, Sahe-no-kami, Dosojin, etc.) ; kami 
who bring happiness and intelligence ; kami who bring misfortune 
and evil {jnaga-kami) ; and also spirits of enemies living and 
dead, of foxes and of badgers who cast malign influences and 
curses on men. 1 

This outline of the modern Shinto pantheon to which the 
discussion in Ujigami to Ujiko introduces us, incomplete though 
it is, yet serves to make plain the fact that modern Shinto still 
breeds true to original type. Another contemporary publication 
includes in the pantheon " the eight myriad kami of heaven and 
the eight myriad kami of earth who have divided control over 
mountains, rivers, grains, grasses and trees, — that is over all things 
of the universe." 2 

A first hand study of the shrines will confirm the above 
statements of the idea of kami in modern Shinto. The most 
popular rural shrines are those of Inari, a kami whose exact 
origins are obscure but who, nevertheless, is assigned the primary 
function of presiding over food especially over rice. A census 
of Inari shrines, if it could be secured, would furnish valuable 
evidence regarding one of the preponderant religious interests of 
modern Japan. A conservative estimate of the number of Inari 
shrines must place the total well up in the thousands. Inari, if 
rightly propitiated and appealed to grants the " hundred cereals," 
wealth, general prosperity, and happiness to man. 3 His mes- 
senger is the mysterious fox. In numerous cases, however, the 



1. Suzuki, Takeichi, Ujigami to Ujiko {.^:\<.^— , J^TJif £ &r£, "Tutelary- 
Deities and their Proteges," Tokyo, 1920), Appendix, pp. 1-9. 

2. Kanzaki, Kazusaku, Shinto Honkyoku Kiyo (fi^lli^— *f£, Ifil^Ju&E^o 
"A Memoir on Shintd Honkyoku," Tokyo, 1914), p. 8. 

3. Cf. Ishikura, Shigetsugu, Kasama Inari Jinja Engi (H#S^> i^lfRlfdt 
^HMf/Ttfcl^lS, "The History of the Kasama Inari Shrine," Kasama, Ibaraki 
Province, I904), pp. 5-7. 



1/8 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

fox itself is worshipped as Inari. Inari shrines are a part of the 
official cult. An example of this relationship is to be seen in the 
fact that the chief priest of the great Inari Shrine at Kasama in 
Ibaraki Province receives the treatment of a state official appoint- 
ed under the approval of the Emperor (sonin rank). 

The official definition that Shinto is not a religion and that 
the idea of kami in the state cult does not partake of the super- 
naturalism of ordinary religion must likewise be made to cover 
various phallic shrines, as, for example, the Ebishima Shrine 
near Ishikoshi, north of Sendai, the Shrine of the " Road- 
Ancestor-God " (Dosofin) of Wakayanagi, also near Ishikoshi, 
shrines to Dosojin at Ichinoseki, at Kashima, and at Aikomura 
in Rikuzen, the Iwato Shrine of Shikoku, also shrines of phallic 
kami at Miyanoura and elsewhere in the Inland Sea. 1 Japanese 
kami under more than eighty different names have been identifi- 
ed as associated with phallicism. 2 In the village of Kiryu, of the 
district of Yamada, in Kozuke, is a forked tree which is worship- 
ped as the kami of male and female union (danjo engumi no 
kami)} Small way-side shrines are frequently found near 
forked trees. A plain forked stick may sometimes be found 
thrown in at phallic shrines along with emblems of the 
phallus and kteis. A phallic deity is sometimes called mata-no- 
kami or chimata-no-kami, " crotch-kami " or " fork-kami." All 
this is a part of the cult of the shrines. 

At certain shrines tooth-ache is cured ; some specialize in eye 
diseases, others in ear trouble ; there are numerous shrines where 
the kami protect against conscription into the Japanese army. 



1. Cf. Chud Bukkyo, " Dosojin to Seishokki Suhai," Sept., 1921, pp. 62-72 
(tfjij^ffc, iijjigjj$ ^ £?If|^^, The Central Buddhism, « Road Ancestor Gods 
and Phallicism "). 

2. Cf. Shin Fukyo, " Shukyo to Seiyoku" March and April, 1921 (Double 
Number, pp. 120-121 [%ft7($$L, ^^C£t3$& New Propagandism (Buddhist), 
" Religion and Sex Hunger "]. 

3. ltd, Entei, Sekai Judai Shukyo Hayawakari (#t||IiQ£, ftlf +^C^ft 
#•£} v * v l > " ^ n Introduction to the Ten Great Religions of the World," Tokyo, 
1920), p. 787. 



THE POLITICAL FHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 179 

The icJw or gingko tree is a sacrecl object at many modern 
shrines. In the eastern suburbs of the city of Sendai a magni- 
ficent specimen of this tree, with large mammilliform pro- 
tuberances, is regarded as the shrine of a kami who supplies 
milk to nursing mothers. The tree has before it the regulation 
torii which marks all shrines in the official cult. The same 
thing may be found widespread throughout Japan. The ex- 
ceedingly diversified nature of the content of the fiaml-idea, of 
modern Shinto may be further seen in the fact that between the 
years 1869 and 19 16 the spirits of 120,070 persons who lost 
their lives in the active military service of the Japanese state 
were enshrined in the Yasukuni Shrine of Tokyo. 1 These also 
are kami of the modern official cult. 

This complex religious idea gives us modern Shinto, which 
is thus neither exclusively ancestor worship nor exclusively nature 
worship ; nor, again, can it be fully defined merely as an amalga- 
mation of the two. Shinto is kami-cu\t, with kami understood 
in the sense of niana. 

In the foregoing investigation we have had under survey 
the fundamental idea of Shinto. The conception which the 
examination lays bare is simply that of naive philosophy the 
world over. The idea of kami is certainly not unique, in spite 
of what Japanese apologists for the official cult like Okuma and 
Haga may say to the contrary. On the other hand, the idea of 
an " over-head ,? world, permeated by a mysterious and magical 
force, is exactly that of primitive religion and philosophy every- 
where. 

The investigation cannot stop here, however. It needs to 
be remembered that Japanese officialdom has declared that 
whatever ideas or beliefs the people themselves may have, the 
government does not look upon the shrines as being religious in 
nature. It is necessary to carry the discussion more directly 
over onto that ground which the government itself has marked 

I. Kamo, Momoki, Yasukuni Jinja Ichiran c^j^^faJ, fl#[Hf 1 j l jfii: -*5H> 
** A Guide to the Yasukuni Shrine," Tokyo, 1919', p. 4. 



l8o THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

out as the area of the true cult of the shrines. It is incumbent upon 
us, thm, to investigate specifically the claims made regarding the 
great kami that head the imperial genealogies of modern Japan. 
In the ensuing discussion we must take up the problem of the 
historicity of some of the most important characters involved in 
the ancestral theory of modern official Shinto. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. l8l 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Mythology of the Official Cult: 
The Original Parents. 

Article I of the present Constitution of Japan in the official 
English translation reads, " The Empire of Japan shall be reigned 
over and governed by a line of Emperors unbroken for ages 
eternal." 1 Article III, following declares, " The Emperor is 
sacred and inviolable." We have here stated two propositions 
that have become fundamental dogmas in modern political 
Shinto. In Article I is expressed the dogma of a single dynasty 
unchanging from time immemorial and closely involved there- 
with the idea that this indestructible line must continue on into an 
unlimited future. In Article III is stated the dogma of the 
sacred person of the Emperor. Prince Ito, who more than any 
other individual Japanese subject was responsible for the contents 
of the Constitution, defines the close connection existing between 
Articles I and III when he says " The Emperor is Heaven 
descended, divine and sacred." 2 In other words a convincing 
manifestation of imperial divinity is to be found in the unbroken 
genealogical connections with the Divine Ancestors of the Age 
of the Gods. 

Ito in exposition of Article III has further written, " Since 
the time when the first Imperial Ancestor opened it, the country 
has not been free from occasional checks in its prosperity nor 
from frequent disturbances of its tranquillity ; but the splendor 

1. For editions of the official English translation of the Japanese Constitu- 
tion consult Ito, H., Commentaries on the Constitution of the Empire of Japan 
(Tokyo 1889) ; T. A. S. J., Vol XLII, Pt. I, pp. 136 fi. j Uehara, The Political 
Development of Japan, Appendix, pp. 277 ff. For the Japanese , text of the Con- 
stitution together with the original of Ito's Commentaries see fftMW-Jt' ^WMfe 
MiM.$&£(L3kffl> ^ rst ed -> J 889; seventh ed., 1914. 

2. See above p. 121. 



1 82 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

of the Sacred Throne transmitted through an unbroken line of 
one and the same dynasty has always remained as immutable as 
that of the heavens and of the earth. At the outset, this Article 
states the great principle of the Constitution of the country, and 
declares that the Empire of Japan shall, to the end of time, 
identify itself with the Imperial dynasty unbroken in lineage, and 
that the principle has never changed in the past, and will never 
change in the future, even to all eternity. It is intended thus to 
make clear forever the relations that shall exist between the 
Emperor and His subjects." 1 The Preamble to the Imperial 
House Law contains the statement, " The Imperial Throne of 
Japan, enjoying the Grace of Heaven and everlasting from ages 
eternal in an unbroken line of succession, has been transmitted to 
us through successive reigns." 2 The Preamble to the Constitu- 
tution likewise opens with the words, " Having, by virtue of the 
glories of Our Ancestors ascended the Throne of a lineal succes- 
sion unbroken for ages eternal " 3 



1. Ito, Commentaries, pp. 2-3. 

2. Ibid., p. 153. 

3. Ibid, Intro, p. XI. 

The sacred character of the Emperor is officially supported by surrounding his 
contacts with his subjects with numerous safeguards and restrictions that are written 
into the national laws themselves. In these various regulations it is possible to dis- 
cern the influence and continuation of ancient taboos such as are attached to sacred 
persons in early culture. Regulations regarding the use of the imperial name on the 
part of the people may be noted first. In old Japanese civilization the name of a royal 
person was an imi-na, that is a tabu-name, and usage thereof was limited to emperors 
and princes of the blood [Cf. Harada, T., " Names (Japanese)," H. E. R. E., Vol. 
9, p. 167). Modern Japanese law perpetuates this old safeguard Subjects may 
make use of the separate ideograms of the imperial names in writing personal or 
family names, but the private name of the Emperor in its entirety is still taboo. 
The law of March 28, 1873 says relative to this matter, " The usage of the ideo- 
grams of the names of past Emperors or of the name of the reigning Emperor is 
not forbidden to the people from now on. However, it is not permitted to use 
the imperial name as such." (H. Z., 1873, p. 155, Order of the Council of State, 
No. 118). This situation in modern Japan is to be studied as a primitive survival 
utilized in the interests of political control. To be understood it must be com- 
pared with the elaborate protections and prohibitions with which the secret names 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 83 

These ideas thus written prominently into the most import- 
ant documents of the Japanese state are constantly echoed and 
reechoed throughout the length and breadth of modern Japan 
from teacher's desk, from press and from speaker's platform 

of sacred persons such as sorcerers, chiefs, priests and kings are surrounded in 
lower culture. The Japanese usage is to be examined in the light of what modern 
anthropology has to say concerning widespread practices relating to name-souls 
and the magical use of names in casting spells even to the extent of bringing 
dea^h to others by manipulating their real names. The modern Japanese law 
which withholds the private name of the Emperor from the danger and defilement 
of popular usage is only one instance of a similar practice in other fields. Mate- 
rial for comparative study here is very extensive. In certain primitive societies 
punishment with death was visited upon those subjects who took the royal name 
as their own. [For literature and discussion see Foucart, G., " Names (Primitive)," 
H. E. R. E., Vol. 9, pp. 130-6. For a case in modern Japan of suicide arising 
out of social chagrin at an illegal use of the sacred imperial name see W. M. Mc- 
Govern, Modern Japan (London, 1920), p. 129]. 

In royal journeyings contacts with the people are likewise closely guarded. A 
law issued on March 9, 1873 covers the matter of imperial processions with 
the following regulation, " On the occasion of an imperial procession, people 
passing along the imperial route, at sight of the royal ensign, must dis- 
mount from horses and vehicles, must remove coverings such as umbrellas 
and hats and, standing by the wayside, must make obeisance." (H. Z., 1873, 
p. 76. Order of Council of State, No. 96). The application of the law is 
extended so as to prevent looking down on the Emperor from any superior posi- 
tion as from upper windows or tramcars. With this Japanese practice is to be 
compared the widespread idea of the sacredness of the head and the notion that 
the head must not come below any inferior or contaminating person or thing. 
(Cf. " Head," H. E. R. E., Vol. 6, pp. 532-40, esp. p. 532). 

The great detail with which the Japanese government controls the contacts 
between the common people and the Sovereign may be seen in regulations setting 
forth the " Form of Obeisance for Students on the Occasion of an Imperial Pro- 
cession " [Emperor, Empress and Crown Prince]. The directions cover both 
military and non-military occasions. The former incidentally reflects the extent 
to which military training is a part oi the normal Japanese educational system, 
especially in Middle Schools. The regulations read : " The form of obeisance 
for students on the occasion ol an imperial procession is fixed as follows. 

" 1. Military form. The school principal and staff shall take their places at 
the extreme right of the entire corps. Group leaders shall take their places to 
the right of each group. Students shall have previously fixed bayonets. Cn the 
appearance of the vanguard of the imperial precession the leaders shall give the 
command, ' Attention ! ' Students shall assume an erect and unmoving attitude. 



1 84 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

alike. The establishing of genealogical connections that are 
" everlasting from ages eternal " necessitates identification with 
various personages appearing in the ancient Shinto pantheon, a 
fact which, in turn, supplies a basis on which a modern Shinto 
writer like Tanaka Yoshito can claim the Japanese Constitution 
itself as a Shinto document. 1 



When the imperial carriage has approached to approximately ten paces from the 
company the leaders shall command, < Present Arms.' All shall simultaneously 
present arms. When the imperial procession has passed to approximately ten 
paces to the left they shall take their former positions. 

" After the imperial carriage has passed to the extreme left of the corps, 
principal, teachers and group leaders shall take up their positions to the left. 

" 2. Non-military form (includes girl students). The school principal and 
staff shall take their places at the extreme right of the entire body. Group leaders 
shall take their places to the right of each group. On the appearance of the 
vanguard of the imperial procession the command, ' Attention ! ', shall be given and 
all shall remove hats simultaneously and shall assume an erect and unmoving atti- 
tude. When the imperial carriage comes in front of the group leader the com- 
mand, ' Salute,' shall be given and all shall make obeisance (that is, with eyes 
fixed on the imperial carriage the upper part oi the body shall be bent forward 
about thirty degrees). At the command, ' As you were ! ', they shall take their 
former positions. 

" After the imperial carriage has passed to the extreme left of the body, 
principal teachers and group leaders. shall take up their positions to the left." 

(Department of Education. Order No. 18, August 26, 1910. Genko Tokyofu 
Gakurei Ruisan,^. 346'. 

Regulations regarding the public use of imperial portraits are as follows : 

" 1. The portraits of the Emperor and of the members of the imperial 
family whether or not they bear the imperial titles or names must not be repro- 
duced except as imperial portraits. 

" 2. Imperial portraits must never be so made as to show carelessness or 
disrespect. 

" 3. The imperial portrait must not be hung or exhibited in a place of 
disrespect. 

" 4. The imperial portrait must not be put on sale or distributed at street- 
stalls." {Genko Tokyofu Gakurei Ruisan, pp. 1-2). The sale of the imperial 
portrait in regular shops is fully permitted. In such cases the royal features are 
frequently screened by attaching a piece of white paper. The government regula- 
tion covering the care of the imperial portraits in public schools has already been 
given. (See above, p. 75, n. 1). 

I. Tanaka, Y., Shinlo Tetsugaku Seigi, p. 208. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 85 

The question is thus raised for us as to how we shall interpret 
the oldest Japanese ancestral traditions. The Japanese govern- 
ment by declaring that Shinto is not a religion, while at the same 
time attempting to retain the support of the ancient genealogical 
connections assigned to important personages of state, would 
appear to be logically under the necessity of declaring that the 
gods were men. That the government has not made its position 
altogether clear in this matter will be shown later. Whatever 
theological presuppositions may be involved in the official stand- 
point, it is to be here noted that the government does attempt to 
build on the proposition that the great kami of the ancient 
records are to bf accounted for completely under the ancestral 
hypothesis. The implications of such a position are fully carried 
out in the instruction administered under official direction in the 
public schools of Japan. 

In presenting an example of the manner in which the details 

of this state pedagogy are worked out in the modern Japanese 

educational system we may cite the recently published Chu 

Gaku Nikon Rekishi, " Japanese History for Middle Schools," a 

text-book which, on the word of the publishers, has a wider 

usage in the Middle Schools of Tokyo than any other similar 

work. It is also extensively used in the provinces. According 

to this text-book, the relevant portion of the royal pedigree is as 

follows : 

" Summarized Genealogy of the Imperial Family. 
Izanagi-no-mikoto and Izanami-no-mikoto 

! 

I I I 

Ama-terasu-o mi-kami. Tsuki-yomi- no-mikoto. Susa-no-wo-no-mikoto. 

I _ I 

Ame-no-oshi-ho-mimi no-miko'o. O-kuni-nushi-no-mikoto. 

I 
Ama-tsu hiko-hiko-ho-no ninlgi no-mikoto. 

I 
Hiko -ho-ho-demi no-mikoto. 

I 
Hiko-nagisa take u gaya-fuki-ahezu-no-mikoto. 

Jimmu Tenno (First Emperor. Original Japanese name is Kamu-yamato- 
ihare-hiko-no-mikoto). Ascended the throne 660 B.C." 1 

I. Shiba, Kuzumori, Chu Gaku Nihon Rekishi y^.%^ $ # 3 /fc Sf $L -h ^r> 



1 86 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

From this point on the genealogy continues down through 
the officially established lineage to the reigning Emperor who ac- 
cordingly came to the throne as the one hundred twenty-second 
Emperor in the 2572nd Year of the Empire after the accession 
of Jimmu Tenno. The reigning Emperor is thus the direct 
descendant of Izanagi and Izanami, and of course of the Great 
Ancestress, Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami. 

Chapter I of the discussion after a characteristic introduc- 
tion takes up the explanation of the genealogy. The text reads : 

" Part I. Ancient History. 
" Chapter I. The Divine Age! 

" Our National Constitution. Our Empire of Great Japan, 
with an Imperial Line above unbroken from time immemorial 
and with its subjects below matchless in loyalty and patriotism, 
from ancient times down to the present has never once received 
a foreign insult. 

" Such a national character is without parallel throughout 
the world and is, indeed, a cause for great pride on the part of 
our people. 

" The Beginning of the Country. Tradition says that in 
the very ancient history of our country there were two kami, 
male and female, called Izayiagi-no-mikoto and Izanami-no-miko- 
to. These two created the Eight-Great-Island-Country [Japan] 
and gave birth to Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami and to Susa-no-wo-no- 

" Japanese History for Middle Schools," 2 Vol., Tokyo, 1917), Vol. I, Intro., p. I. 
The meanings of the elaborate titles of the descendants of Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami are 
very difficult to determine. Following Chamberlain's suggestions, however they 
may be given the tentative renderings : (1) His Augustness Heavenly-Great-Great- 
Ears, (2) His Augustness Heavenly- Sun-child-Sun-child-Rice-ear-Ruddy-Plenty, 
(3) His Augustness Great -Rice -ears-Lord-ears, (4) His Augustness Sun-child- 
Wav.e -limit-Brave-Cormorant -Thatch- Meeiing-Incompletely, (51 His Augustness 
Divine-Yamato-Ihare-Sun-child. The repetition of the elements hi (_" sun," " fire," 
" light," " day "j and ho (" fire ") in the titles would seem to favor the conjecture 
that the idea of light is prominent in the genealogy. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 87 

mikoto. Ama terasu-o-mi~kami, as the one possessing the highest 
virtue, ruled over Takama-ga-hara. Her younger brother, 
Susa-no-wo-no-mikoto, performed many acts of violence and, on ac- 
count of causing suffering to the Great Deity \_Ama-terasu-o-mi- 
kami], he was finally driven out and went down to Idzumo. There 
he subdued the rebels and secured the Sacred Sword (Mura-kumo- 
no-tsurngi, " Clustering-clouds-Sword ") which he presented to 
the Great Deity. 

" The Presentation of the Country by O-kuni-nushi-no-mikoto. 
The kami known as 0-kiini-nusJd-no-mikoto was the son of Susa- 
no-wo-no-mikoto. He succeeded his father as ruler of Idzumo 
and, together with Sukuna-hiko-na-no-kami, brought the country 
under cultivation, subdued those who were rebelious and taught 
the knowledge of medicine. Thus the influence of his virtue 
spread to the four quarters of the land. When Ama-terasu-o- 
mi-kami was about to make her grandson ruler of this land 
[Japan] she sent as messengers, Futsu-nushi-no-kami and Take- 
mika-dzuchi-no-kami and caused them to announce that the 
land should be given up. O-kuni-nushi-no-mikoto reverently 
obeyed the Imperial Edict and retired to the palace of Kidzuki. 
This kami is now enshrined in the Great Shrine of Idzumo. 

" The Descent of the Imperial Grandson. Ama-terasu-o-mi- 
kami thereupon gave an Imperial command to her grandson, 
Ninigi-no- mikoto, saying, ' The . Luxuriant Reed-Plain Land-of- 
Fresh-Rice-ears [Japan] is the land over which my descendants 
shall reign. Do thou, Imperial Offspring, go and rule over iu 
and the prosperity of the Imperial Succession of Heaven shall be 
as everlasting as Heaven and Earth.' The foundations of our 
Imperial rule, which shall not be moved forever, were in truth 
laid at this time. 

" The Great T)eity also conferred upon the prince (Ninigi- 
710-mikotd) the Eight-sided-Mirror, the Clustering-clouds-Sword 
and the Curved Jewels of Yasaka Gem. These are called the 
Three Sacred Treasures. At this time the Great Deity said, 
' When you look into this mirror, regard it as looking on me, 



1 88 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINT5. 

myself.' From that time on the sacred treasures have been 
handed down by the successive generations of Emperors. They 
are the symbols of the Imperial Throne. 

il Thereupon Ninigi-no-mikoto , leading the kami, descended 
upon Hyuga and dwelt in the palace of Takachiho. Ninigi-no- 
mikoto and his son, Hiko-hoho-demi-no-mikoto, and his grand- 
son, Ugaya-fuki-ahezu-no-mikoio — three generations — made their 
capitals in Hyuga. The above is called the Divine Age." 1 

Chapter two is devoted^to the exploits of the first traditional 
emperor. It opens with the statement, " Jimmu Tenno was the 
son of Ugaya-fuki-ahezu-no-mikoto"' 1 

Numerous similar cases jmight be cited going to show the 
great importance attached to the inculcation of correct ideas 
regarding the royal succession, in the modern Japanese 
educational system. For example, the Japanese History for 
Higher Primary Schools," published by the Department of 
Education, gives the same genealogy as above with the excep- 
tion that connections beyond Ama-terasn-o-mi-kami are not 
emphasized. 3 

The section of the imperial genealogy as just presented in 
the quotation from the " Japanese History for Middle Schools," 
apart from the formidable character of the titles themselves, does 
not appear, on the face of it, to possess any features essentially 
different from what may be met with in any well authenticated 
royal genealogy, say, of European history. A Japanese student 
thus introduced to the matter, and unequipped with a know- 
ledge of the method and materials of critical historical study, 
must naturally come to feel himself in the presence of an histori- 
cal absolute — a principle of Japanese political life that " has 
never changed in the past, and will never change in the future, 
even to all eternity." It is not easy, under the circumstances, 



1. Chu Gaku Nikon Rekishi, pp. I -4. 

2. 2dm., p. 4. 

3. Koto Shogaku Nikon Rekishi (^^/j^ /fcggjfc^— , "Japanese His- 
tory for Higher Primary Schools "), Vol. I, Appendix, p. 14. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 89 

to avoid the impression that the upbuilding in the minds of 
Japanese students of such confidence and conviction is the primary 
motive in the state pedagogy which insists on the genealogy 
as thus shaped up under the official imprimature. 

Certain extraordinary features of the Japanese genealogy 
need to be considered. These matters relate both to the nature 
of the great " ancestors " that head the list and to the actual 
historical basis on which the earliest chronology is calculated. 
The former subject must be considered at length, the latter may 
be noted in passing. 

The chronology which fixes the date of the accession ot 
Jimmu Tenno at 660 B.C. is officialized in modern Japanese law 
and in imperial edict alike. History text-books for public schools 
reckon time according to this " Japanese Era." An example of 
this may be found in a statement published by the Department 
of •Education in the " Japanese History for Higher Primary 
Schools," which, after describing the earlier portion of the achieve- 
ments of Jimmu Tenno, says, " Subsequently the Emperor made 
his palace at Kashiwara in Yamato and carried out the first cere- 
mony of accession to the throne. This took place 2573 years 
before 191 3 [i.e. 660 B.C.]. This is the first year of the era of 
our country. The eleventh day of the second month of each 
year, in which is celebrated the accession of Jimmu Tenno, 
corresponds with the day on which this auspicious accession 
ceremony was carried out." 1 The imperial decree promising 
the establishment of a parliament, promulgated on Oct. 12, 1881, 
opens with the clause, " We, sitting on the Throne which has 
been occupied by Our dynasty for over 2500 years. . . ." 2 
This chronology thus represents official, historical orthodoxy in 
modern Japan. Occasional Japanese historians who have 
dared to criticize it in accordance with even the elementary 
principles of scientific historiography and in the Japanese lan- 

1. Jinjb Shogaku Nikon Rekishi (9^/HPfl Jfcl&fe%— » " Japanese His- 
tory for Ordinary Primary Schools "), Vol. 1, p. 5. 

2. Cf. T. A. S. J., Vol. XLII, Pt. 1, p. 86. 



190 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

guage, have been subjected to severe official discipline. 1 The gov- 
ernment itself has not attempted to date the royal genealogies 
beyond Jimmu Tenno although the assurance with which the 
descent is traced from Ama-terasu-d-mi-kami would seem to 
imply that more remote dates can be supplied if necessary. 
There are certain individual Shintoists of the present, however, 
who do not hesitate to enter in even where the government 
apparently fears to tread. Dr. G. Kato, Dr. T. Inouyeand Prof. 
Y. Tanaka have all recently made written statements that refer 
to three thousand years of Japanese history. 2 

These claims, both official and private, are to be adjusted in 
the light of certain obvious historical facts. An official recogni- 
tion of the knowledge of writing in Japan does not appear in 
written documents until 405 A.D., 3 although individual Japan- 
ese were probably acquainted with Chinese ideograms fairly early 
in the Christian era. The existence of a knowledge of how to 
make calendars is first mentioned in 553 A.D. 4 . The first known 
Japanese attempt at historical writing, the Knjiki (now lost), 
dates from 620 A.D. 5 The oldest extant historical writing, the 
Kojlki, dates from 712 A.D. 6 The Nihongi was completed in 
720 A.D. 7 The modern Japanese government in insisting on 
a chronology that dates back to 660 B.C. makes use ol at least 
one thousand years of unverifiable tradition. Shintoists who 
speak of an historical record " stretching across three thousand 
boundless years " have • thereby introduced a period of oral 
tradition that is of greater length than the genuine historical 
period that can be definitely authenticated on the evidence of actual 

1. Cf. T. A. S. J., Vol. XXXVII, (19 io\ p. 257; Chamberlain, B. H., 
Things Japanese (London, 1905, Fifth Revised Edition), p. 230, note. 

2. See Kato, Waga Kokntai to Shinto, Preface, p. 2; Inouye, in Yamaio 
Shimbun, Nov. 29, 1920, p. 1 ; Tanaka, Shinto Hongi, p. 1 2 1. 



3- 


Cf. A., I, pp XI, XVII. 


4- 


Ibid., p. XVII. 


5- 


Ibid., p. XII. 


6. 


Cf. C, Intro., p. 1. 


7- 


Cf. A., I, p. XIII. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. I9I 

written documents. The " Japanese Era " was not officially estab- 
lished in the modern situation until December 15, 1872. A law of 
this date says in part, "The accession to the throne of Jimmu Tenno 
has been settled upon as the beginning of the (Japanese) era." 1 The 
great yearly festival commemorating this accession was fixed by law 
at the same time. 2 It was not until March 7, 1873 that the govern- 
ment settled upon a regular name for this festival. A law was then 
issued saying, " The day of the accession to the throne of Jimmu 
Tenno shall be called Kigensetsu (" Year- Origin-Festival "). s 

Such simple historical facts as have just been stated, in accord- 
ance with which the validity of the official chronology is to be esti- 
mated, are not unknown to individual Japanese writers. 4 Yet, 
however loyal private opinion maybe to the principles of a scientific 
methodology, up to the present it has exerted 113 perceptible in- 
fluence on the official situation. Governmental expediency and 
not historical science is in control. A better idea of what is involved 
here may be secured from a study of the nature of the early my- 
thology which is thus utilized as history. We must turn there- 
fore to the mythology and take up the investigation of the nature 
of the two original ancestors with which the " Japanese History 
for Middle Schools " begins the royal genealogies. 

The " National Reader (Kokumin Tokuhon) " for Japanese 
schools, compiled under the direction of Marquis Okuma dis- 



1. H. Z., 1872, pp. 283-4; Order of the Council of State, No 342 (Dec. 15). 

2. Order of the Council of State, No. 344 (Dec. 15, 1872). The law 
reads, " The twenty-ninth day of the first month corresponds with the day of the 
accession to the throne of Jimmu Tenn5, and shall be observed yearly as a festival 
day." A marginal annotation to this regulation in the Hbrei Zens ho reads, " This 
was corrected in 1874 to February 11 of the present calendar." 

3. H Z., 1873, P- 75 '> Order of the Council of State, No. 91 (March 7). 

4. Cf. Saito, H., Geschichte Japans (Berlin, 19 12), pp. 4-5 ; Nitobe, 7 he 
Japanese Nation, pp. 53-5 ; Asakawa, K., The Early Institutional Life of Japan, p, 
23-25 ; Kikuchi, Japanese Education, p. 7. Mr. Nakayama Taro, speaking before 
the Meiji Japan Society in 192 1 assigned as one of the principal causes of the 
existing unsatisfactory state of the study of the most ancient Japanese records, 
a failure to distinguish between mythology and history. {Meiji Seitoku Kitten 
Gak.kai Kiyo, 192 1, p. in). 



192 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

cusses Izanagi and Izanagi under a section entitled " The Deve- 
lopment of the Empire " and under a chapter heading designated 
" The Beginning of the Foundation of the State." The text 
'speaks of these two deities as " The ancestral kami who in very 
ancient times produced the Eight Great Islands." 1 Dr. G. 
Kato in a recent attempt at the interpretation of these deities has 
emphasized culture hero elements and thereby legitimatized the 
effort to associate them with an ancestral line appearing in actual 
human society. 2 An explanation by Prof. S. Kono similarly 
gives prominence to a mythology centering in hero worship 
(eiyu shinwci)? Popular beliefs in modern Japan make Izanagi 
and Izanami universal parents. The Shinri sect of Shinto teaches, 
" The origin of man was at the time of creation. The form of 
man was patterned after the body of God. The two kami, 
Izanagi and Izanami, are the parents of the human race." 4 The 
Taisha Sect teaches that these two deities " First trod the path 
of spouses and produced god-men, deigning to lay the founda- 
tion for all enterprise. Hence it was that all mankind breath 

and have their being They are the first parents 

of the human race." 5 The canon of Shinto Hon-Kyoku teaches, 
*' The two kami, Izanagi and Izanami, are the source of the 
construction of the land and of the propagation of living things." 6 
In other sects of modern Shinto they are similarly regarded as 
original parents. 7 Even such a scholar as Dr. N. Ariga appar- 

i. Okuma, Shigenobu, Kokumin Tokuhon (^Rgytflf , ^$^i$., " National 
Reader," Tokyo, 1915), p. 21. 

2. Meiji Seitoku Kinen Gakkai Kiyo, Vol. 16 (Sept. 1921), p. 103. 

3. Ibid., p. 104. 

4. FujitaYLoyo, Shinto Kaku Kyoha no Hyori (giEEIffiyi, t$ i M.&WLW 3^k 
j||, "The Shint5 Sects considered from Within and Without," Tokyo, 1919 , p. 105. 

5. T. A. S. J., Vol. XLI, Pt. IV (1913), p. 639. 

6. Kanzaki, Kazusaku, Shinto Honkyoku Kiyo (jf^iH^— f£, W^M^Wl^L^y 
"A Memoir on Shinto Honkyoku," Tokyo, 1914), p. 8. 

7. Cf. Maki, Makijiro, Kurozumi Munetada Den {^M^M^ H^^* M> 
" Life of Kurozumi Munetada," Osaka, 1907), pp. 37 ff. ; Masuno, Shobei (Ed.), 
Tenrikyo Kyoten Shakugi (tffi^IE^fiJ, ~%.i%%MK^M% " Exposition of the 
Scripture of Tenri Kyo," Osaka, 1912), p. 29. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 93 

ently endorses the view that the world was created by Izanagi 
and Izanami} 

The deep hold which ideas regarding the primitive creative 
activity of Izanagi and Izanami have on official genealogies and 
on folk-lore alike can only be adequately explained by reference 
to social experiences correspondingly deep and comprehensive 
passed through by the ancient ancestors of the Japanese race. 
The internal criticism of the literary records in the light of 
the findings of comparative mythology furnishes material that 
leaves little doubt as to what these ancient, formative experiences 
were. The evidence given below attempts to show that in 
Izanagi there is preserved the memory of an ancient Japanese 
Sky-Father and in Izanami, his mate, the idea of an old Earth- 
Mother, and that the Japanese account of the activities of this 
original creative pair has affinities with similar mythologies the 
world over. Especially striking parallels to the Japanese my- 
thology relating to this pair are to be found in the Polynesian 
form of the cosmogonic myth. 

As a means of orientating the discussion it is necessary to 
introduce in the first place comparative material of a general 
nature showing the universality of ideas relating to the Sky- 
Father and the Earth-Mother in primitive mythologies. 

Modern ethnology — the " new ethnology " — supported by 
the sciences of psychology, sociology, history, comparative 
mythology and comparative religion, is giving us new insight 
into the interpretation of the experiences of primitive man. We 
are learning among other things that great mythologies emerge 
from great life experiences, and that a great deity stands for 
something correspondingly vital in the social life of man. As 
the material from the various, human, cultural groups past and 
present is made available for comparative study it becomes 
increasingly apparent how strikingly parallel are human reactions 
under similar circumstances of external environment. The great 

31. Cf. T. A S. J., Vol. XXXVII (1910), Intro , p IX, note. 



194 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

myths of mankind are almost monotonously similar in their 
fundamental aspects. The truth of this general observation is 
shown specifically in the well-nigh universal myth of the mar- 
riage of Earth and Sky. 

J. A. MacCulloch has said, " The expanse of Heaven and 
the broad earth were early regarded as personal beings, and also 
as husband and wife. Earth, from which so many living things 
sprang, being thought of as female. Their union was the source 
of all things in Nature, and, when the gods of departments of 
nature were evolved, these were regarded as their children. 
Generally also they are the parents of gods and men. In most 
cosmogonies Earth is the fruitful mother impregnated by Heaven, 
though in some cases the Sun or " Great Spirit " is her husband 
and they are universal parents." 1 

H. B. Alexander in connection with his exposition of North 
American mythology has written, u The personification of the 
Earth, as the mother of life and the giver of food, is a feature of 
the universal mythology of mankind. It prevails everywhere in 
North America, except among the Eskimo, where the concep- 
tion is replaced by that of the under-sea-woman, Food Dish, 
and on the North- West Coast, where sea deities again are the 
important food givers, and the underworld woman is no more 
than a subterranean Titaness. In many localities the marriage 
of the Sky or Sun with the Earth is clearly expressed." 2 

Foucart, reasoning [from the universality of the sky-god 
concept at the base of practically all of the cosmogonic mytho- 
logy of the world, concludes that the origin of the idea of the 
sky-god is to be assigned to the most ancient period of the 
history of religious thought. The same author indicates the 
following fields and peoples among which the sky-god idea is 
found. In America : among the Toltecs, Mayas, Incas, the 
Indians of Brazil, the Indians of the Andes, the Caribs, in short, 



1. MacCulloch, J. A., Art. " Earth," IT. E. R. E., Vol. 5, p. 130. 

2. Alexander, Hartley Burr, North American Mythology (The Mythology of 
All Races), p. 289. Cf. also ibid., pp. 8r, 273, 295. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 95 

from the natives of Tierra del Fuego on the south to the Eskimo 
in the north. In Asia : among the Shamanist Groups of North 
Asia, among the Ainu, the Chinese, and in " primitive Japanese 
Shinto " [evidently Ama-terasit-o-mi-kami\. The Sky-Father 
" is related to the ancient Pulugu of the Andamans, to the 
Varuna of primitive India, and, toward the west, to the pantheons 
of the ancient classicar.East." 1 He is found also in old Chaldea, 
in the Semitic and the proto-Semitic mythologies. In Oceania he 
appears in the cosmologies of Australia, of Melanesia and Poly- 
nesia. " But nowhere does his physiognomy appear more dis- 
tinctly than in Africa — whether in the pantheons of ancient 
Egypt or in the many savage religions of the black continent. 
From the great Kilima of the Bantu groups to the Negritian 
Mahu we recognize him as always the same under a hundred 
different names." 2 

The cult of the Sky-Father and Earth-Mother appears in 
the Rig Veda. 3 It was likewise primary in the mythology of 
ancient Babylon. 4 Vegetation rituals to which mythologies of 
the Earth-Mother were intimately related, lay back of the cere- 
monies of the mystery religions of the Eastern Mediterranean 
area. 5 Zeus, the father of gods, demi-gods and men, was 
originally a personification of the sky. 6 The priestess of 
Dodona in Epirus chanted, " Earth sends up fruits, so praise we 
Earth the Mother." 7 Personifications of the earth and the sky 
had important places in the mythologies of the ancient Romans 
and Teutons, and also probably of the ancient Celts. 8 The 

1. Foucart, George, Art. " Sky and Sky-gods," H. E. R. E., Vol. 1 1, 
p. 581. 

2. ibid. 

3. Hopkins, E. W., " 1 "he History of Religions, ■■ p. 172. 

4. Jeremias, Alfred, Allgemeine Religions-Geschichte (1918), pp. 26-30. 

5. For literature and discussion consult H. E R. E., Vol. 9, pp. 70-83; 
Farnell, L. R., Cults of Greek States, Vol. III., pp. 289-306. 

6. Cf. Fox, Win. Sherwood, Greek and Roman Mythology {Mythology of All 
Races), p. 152 ; L. R. Farnell, " Greek Religion" H. E. R. E., Vol. 6, p. 395. 

7. Harrison, Jane Ellen, " Mountain Mother," H. E. R E., Vol. 8, p. 868. 

8. Cf. MacCulloch, op. cit., p. 129. 



I96 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

primitive Chinese myth of Panku is to be understood as a person- 
ification of heaven and earth. 1 Among the Polynesians the 
original parents from whom came gods, men, and the islands, were 
the two great deities Rangi, the Sky-Father, and his wife, Papa, 
the Earth-Mother. 2 

To this list we may add Japan. The stories of the labors 
of a Sky-Father and of an Earth-Mother under the names of 
Izanagi and Izanami lie at the center of the ancient Japanese 
form of the cosmogonic myth. In elucidation of this statement 
we may first make comparison with the Polynesian mythology 
to which reference has just been made. The old Maori account 
says, " Men had but one pair of primitive ancestors : they 
sprang from the vast heaven that exists above us and from the 
earth which lies beneath us. According to the traditions of our 
race, Rangi and Papa, or Heaven and Earth, were the source 
from which, in the beginning, all things originated. Darkness 
then rested upon the heaven and upon the earth, and they still 
both clave together, for they had not yet been rent apart." 3 

Rangi the Sky, and Papa, the Earth-Mother, however, 
were not regarded as the oldest of the gods. The cosmogonic 
myth of the Maori, which Dixon says is very old, presents a 
conception of existence as beginning with Kore . " Negation " 
and Po, " Darkness." Following these appears a series of 
similar abstractions presented in genealogical order and finally, 
twenty generations after the manifestation of the initial void, the 
great creative parents come into existence. Rangi takes to wife 
Papa and between them they beget the gods, and according to 
some accounts, men and the islands on which they lived. 4 

1. Mayer, Chinese Manual, p. 174. Cited in Aston, Nihongi, Vol. I, p. 28. 

2. Grey, Sir George, Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional His- 
tory of the New Zealand Race, as furnished by their Priests and Chiefs (London, 
1855), pp. 1-2. 

3. Grey, op. cit. 

4. Cf Tregear, Maori- Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, pp. 39 1-2; 
Dixon, Roland Burrage, Oceanic Mythology (Boston, 1916), p. 14; Anderson, J. 
C, Maori Life in Aotea, p. 127. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 97 

The form of the Japanese cosmogonic myth is closely 
similar. Izanagi and Izanami, although they occupy the 
primary position as creative deities, are not regarded as the old- 
est of the gods. The Japanese account as set forth in the Kojikl 
repeats the form of the Polynesian record in that it attempts to 
carry speculation back to the very beginning of the universe. 
The first god mentioned is Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi-no-kami, 
" The Lord of the Center of Heaven." Following this kami 
appears a list of sixteen other divine beings, arranged for the most 
part in genealogical sequence, ending with the great creative pair, 
Izanagi and Izanami. These two give birth to the islands of 
the Japanese archipelago and likewise become the ancestors 
of gods and men. 1 

In the Nihongi account the creation myth opens with a 
picture of chaos in which darkness and light have not yet been 
separated and in which Heaven and Earth are - not yet formed. 
Out of this chaos Heaven eventually emerges and afterwards 
Earth. The first definite kami to appear is Kuni-toko-tachi-no- 
mikotOy given in a slightly variant account as Ama-no-toko- 
tachi-no-mikoto. Seven generations after this deity, Izanagi and 
Izanami appear and exercise the same creative functions as in 
the Kojiki record. 2 

The introductory sentences of the Nihongi which have just 
been briefly summarized have been criticised by Japanese and 
foreign scholars alike as an attempt to rationalize Japanese 
mythology under the influence of Chinese philosophy. 3 While 
the fact of Chinese influence on early Japanese literature must 
not be lost sight of, yet it must be admitted that the problem of 
possible relationships is much more complicated than an exclu- 
sive reference to Chinese analogies would seem to indicate. 

After this general comparison we are in a position to note 

I. Cf. C.y pp. I5-I8. 

2. Cf. A., I, pp. 1-13. 

3. Cf. Aston, Shinto, the Way of the Gods y pp. 169-170; Meiji Seitoku 
Kinen Gakkai Kiyo, Vol. 16 (Sept., 1921), pp. 116, 120. 



I98 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 

some of the more particularized data concerning Izanagi and 
Izanami. As evidence that they are to be taken as Sky- Father 
and Earth-Mother, respectively, we may further note : 

The Japanese records agree in representing Izanagi as 
having originally come down from out of Heaven. One of the 
Nihongi accounts informs us that after his creative tasks were 
finally accomplished he went back to Heaven and lived there 
" in the smaller palace of the Sun." 1 The fact that Izanami is 
also represented as having come down from Heaven may be said 
to be in all probability the result of an early effort to assign an 
adequate origin to the Earth Mother. As will be indicated below, 
in the later role which the mythology assigns her, she is com- 
pletely identified with the earth. 

In the Kojiki account the sun and moon deities sprang from 
the purified eyes of Izanagi as he washed in a river of Tsukushi, 
the sun-goddess from his left eye, the moon-god from his right 
eye. 2 

Polynesian mythology presents analogous details here, again. 
The mythology of the Cook „Group relates that the father of 
gods and men was Vatea who took to wife Papa, the Earth- 
Mother. An account which Gill considers very ancient repre- 
sents Vatea as possessed of two wonderful eyes, " rarely visible 
at the same time." " In general, whilst one, called by mortals 
the sun, is seen here in the upper world, the other eye, called by 
men the moon, shines in Aviki (the spirit world)." 3 A Maori 
poem speaks of the moon and sun as having been thrown up 
into the sky " as the chief eyes of Heaven." 4 

1. A., I, p. 34. For " smaller palace of the Sun " the text reads B £^^f, 
hi no ivaka miya (N. p. 23). Anesaki has translated this " Solar Young Palace " 
(Cf. H. E. R. E., Vol. 8, p. 38). The meaning of this apparent subordination of 
Izanagi to the Sun-goddess will be taken up later in the discussion. 

2. Cf. C.,p. 42. 

3. Gill, Wm. Wyatt, Myths and Songs from the South Pacific (London, 
l8 7 6 )> PP- 3-4- 

4. Taylor, R, Te Ikaa Maui or New Zealand and its Inhabitants (Lon- 
don, 1870 2nd ed.), p. 109. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 1 99 

Dixon says, '* The sun and moon in the Maori myth seem 
generally to be regarded as Rangi's offspring who were later 
placed for eyes in the sky, and similar beliefs prevailed in the 
Society Group and in Samoa." 1 

A myth that connects the origin of the sun and moon with 
the eyes of Izanagi can mean little other than that this kami is 
to be understood as a deification of the sky, thought of as pos- 
sessing two wonderful eyes. 

Again, Susa-no-wo, the Japanese god of storm and violence, 
is represented as having been born from the nostrils of Izanagi? 
The mythology at this point can be consistently interpreted as 
presenting the idea that the stormy, violent wind was the snort- 
ing breath ol the Sky- Father. The Nihongi says that the wind- 
god, Shina-tsu-Jdko-no-kami (" Prince-of-Long-Wind-AWzz "), 
who drives away the morning mists is the breath of Izanagi? 

Again, the connection with the lower world which the 
mythology assigns to Izanami is such as to identify her with 
earth-deities of other fields. The myth relates that Izanami 
while in the midst of her creative activities, through giving birth 
to a deity of fire, at length went away. Izanagi in order to 
meet with her after their separation had to pass into the Land of 
Night beneath the earth. 4 Here Izanami became the Great 
Goddess of the Underworld. The Kojiki says, " So Izanami- 
no-mikoto is called the Great-Deity-of-Hades (Yomo-tsu-d-kami)." 5 
In the Polynesian myth Papa, after her separation from Rangi, 
was so closely related to the earth and the lower world as to 
constitute in her own person the various divisions of hell. 6 This 
identification of the Earth-goddess with the underworld is a wide- 
spread characteristic of primitive mythology. This double nature 

1. Dixon, op. cit., p. 37. Cf. also Tregear, op. cit., p. 392 ; White J., 
Ancient History of the Maori, I, p. 7. 

2. Cf. C, p. 43. 

3. A., I, p. 22. 

4. C, p. 34. 

5. Ibid., p. 38. 

6. Tregear, op, cit., p. 315. 



200 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

was common to most Earth-divinities among the Greeks. Mac- 
Culloch points out that the Roman Tellus was likewise associated 
with the underworld. 1 The same is probably true of the Baby- 
lonian Earth-goddess Allatu, " The Lady of Hell." 2 The Earth- 
mother of the Iroquois was the goddess of both night and earth. 2 
The meaning of this two-fold character in the case of Izanami 
will be dealt with later in the discussion. 

An additional piece of evidence pointing toward the ancient 
Sky-Father character of Izanagi is to be derived from that 
portion of the account wherein are introduced the tears which 
Izanagi shed at separation from his wife. The Maori myth here 
again presents valuable material for comparison. The mythology 
of this people after recounting the story of the great separation 
already mentioned, continues, " Up to this time the vast Heaven 
has still ever remained separated from his spouse the Earth. Yet 
their mutual love still continues — the warm sighs of her loving 
bosom still ever rise up to him, ascending from the woody 
mountains and valleys, and men call these mists ; and the vast 
Heaven, as he mourns, through the long nights his separation 
from his beloved, drops frequent tears upon her bosom, and 
men seeing these term them dew-drops " 4 

Although the meaning of the separation of the Japanese 
lovers appears to differ in certain important respects from that of 
the above, yet the Polynesian myth sheds valuable light on the inci- 
dent of the weeping of Izanagi. After Izanami had retired upon 
giving birth to the fire-god, Izanagi is made to cry out, " Oh, my 
beloved wife ! Oh, that I should have exchanged you for a 
single child ! " The Kojiki then continues : " And as he crept 
toward her pillow and as he crept toward her feet, there was 
born from his tears the deity who lives at Unewo no Konomoto 
•on Mount Kagu. Her name is ' Weeping-Rain-Deity ' (Naki- 

1. MacCulloch, op. cit., p. 131. 

2. Ibid. 

3. Alexander, op. cit. i p. 295. 

4. Dixon, op. cit.y p. 33, quoted from Grey, Polynesian Mythology. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 201 

same-no-kamiox Naki-sawame no ^^;;^' 1 )." In the Japanese account 
the tears of Izanagi are rain-drops, in the Maori myth the tears 
of Rangi are dew-drops ; in both cases moisture from the sky is 
interpreted as tears of grief and longing at the separation of the 
ancient lovers. The conclusion, that Izanagi is to be interpreted 
as the great Sky-Father, similar to Rangi, appears to be support- 
ed by this evidence. The Sky-god nature of Izanagi is further 
suggested in the apparently meaningless statement "as he crept 
toward, her pillow and as he crept toward her feet." What at 
first glance appears altogether fanciful if not ridiculous, becomes 
on further thought an inevitable part of the story. The myth 
has preserved here a fragment that is of considerable value in 
determining jubt what and who Izanagi and Izanami anciently 
were. We only have to imagine ourselves standing with primi- 
tive man on the .prostrate form of Mother-Earth, with the weep- 
ing, rainy sky creeping down toward her " pillow " on the one 
horizon and down to her feet on the other — we have but to 
understand this to surmise that Izanagi and Izanami emerg- 
ed out of fundamental and universal human experiences with the 
phenomena earth and sky. 

Further data pointing toward the original sky-god character 
of Izanagi may be found in the nature of the sword which was 
girded about him and which flashes forth here and there in the 
mythology. The conclusion is that this sword was the lightning 
flash. Like Jupiter Fulminator and other sky-fathers, Izanagi 
was equipped with a striking weapon which had its origin in 
ancient experiences with the thunderstorm. The evidence which 

i. Cf. Santai Kojiki, p. 18 ; C, p. 31. The title of this deity is written 
in the Kojiki ^/-i^/ji^ and in the Nihongi Ti%^r%0$- The rendering of sawame 
jn the sense of same, ame, " rain " follows a suggested reading advanced by 
Motoori in Kojiki Den. [Cf. Dai Nikon Shimmei Jisho (^ B /fc'l?^ S? J^> 
"Dictionary of Japanese Gods," Tokyo, 1912), p. 231]. For ame, "rain," read 
same in compounds see harusame, " spring rain " and murasame, " sudden show- 
ers." Suggestive material for comparison with IzanagVs tears of separation will 
be found in Harrison, J. E., Themis, A Study of the Social Origins of Greek 
Religion (Cambridge, 1912), p. 176. 



202 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MOD2RN SHINTO 

the old Japanese records furnish in this matter is fairly conclu- 
sive. According to the Kojiki, the name of IzanagVs sword was 
Ame-no-wo-ha-bari, " Heavenly-Point-Blade-Extended. "* This 
sword appears as one of the kami with the title Itsu-no-wo-ha-bari- 
no-kami, " Majestic-Point-Blade-Extended-Deity." 2 Itsu or idzu 
in the title of this deity is a term used to express the awe-inspiring 
character or the effulgence of a kami. In the mere matter of 
the names of IzanagVs sword there seems to be a slight amount 
of evidence indicating an original formative experience in some 
phenomenon that was associated with the heavens {ama) and 
which, at the same, time was majestic or terrible. More direct 
evidence is to be found in the fact that the Kojiki makes this 
sword the father of the ancient Japanese thunder-god, Take-mika- 
dznchi-no-zvo-no-kami (" Terrible-Thunder-Male-Deity "). 3 The 
myth relates that when the matter of the pacifying of the tur- 
bulent land that later was to become the territory of Japan, was 
under discussion in the council of Taka-ma-ga-hara, it was pro- 
posed that " Majestic-Point-Blade-Extended-Deity " be sent 
down to accomplish this task. When consulted in the matter 
this deity replied, " I will obey and will respectfully serve you. 
Nevertheless on this errand ye should send my child, the Terri- 
ble-Thunder-Male-Deity." 1 The offspring of IzanagVs sword 
then is thunder. The inference is plain as to what the sword 
itself must have been in the original experience of the makers of 
the myth. 

Further evidence pointing to a connection between thunder 
and IzanagVs sword is to be found in the Nihongi. In one 

1. Cf. C, p. 34. Votive swords with blades broad toward the point in imita- 
tion of the shape of the ancient Japanese weapon are frequently found at Shinto 
shrines in the present. The shape of these swords suggests a remote origin in the 
stone age first-hatchet. 

2. Cf. C, p. 100. 

3. Cf. A., I, p. 68, note 3. Mikadzuchi is evidently the same as ikadziichi, 
« thunder." See also Satow, « Ancient Japanese Rituals," T. A. S. J., Vol. VII,. 

p. 4*5- 

4. Cf. C, p. 100. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 203 

passage of this record we read of certain deities who dwelt in 
the Rock Cave of Heaven. They were the three genera- 
tions of kami : Mika-no-haya-hi-no-kami (" Terrible-Swift-Fire- 
Deity "), who was the son of Itsu-no-wo-bashiri-no-kami (Majes- 
tic-Male-Running-Deity "), Hi-no-hay a-hi-no-kami (" Swift-Fire- 
of-Fire-Deity M ), and Take-mikadzuchi-no-kami (" Terrible-Thun- 
der-Deity ") who was the child of Swift-Fire-of-Fire-Deity. 1 
These deities lived in the Rock Cave of Heaven ; that is to say, 
they were generally invisible, 2 but they flashed forth as swift 
fire accompanied by a thunder-child. We may have little hesi- 
tation in saying that they had their origin in ancient human 
experiences with the thunder storm. The parentage of the 
thunder god, found once in Izanagi's sword and again in a swift 
fire of heaven, plainly favors the interpretation that these two are 
one and the same and that the Majestic-Point-Blade-Extended, 
worn by Izanagi is nothing other than the lightning flash. 

Evidence for the conclusion that the sword of Izanagi is 
the lightning flash can be made yet more particular. - We have 
only to consider the exegesis of the various deities that spring 
from the blood that attaches to the different parts of Izanagi' s 
sword when he slays Kagu-tsuchi, to find unexpected confirma- 
tion of our interpretation. The pertinent section of the Kojiki 
following the account of how Izanami died in giving birth to 
Kagu-tsuchi reads, " Hereupon Izanagino-mikoto drew the ten- 
grasp sword with which he was girded and cut off the head of 
his child, Kagu-tsuchi-no-kami. The names of the deities that 
were then born from the blood that stuck to the point of his 
sword and bespattered the multitudinous rock masses were Iwa- 
saku-no-kami (" Rock- Splitting- Deity "), next Ne-saku-no-kami 

1. Cf. N., p. 50; A., I, p. 68. 

2, The conclusion that invisibility of celestial phenomena or obscuration 
thereof was described by the early Japanese myth-makers as an entering into the 
Rock Cave of Heaven is supported by the account of how when Ama-terasu-o-mi- 
kami, the Sun-goddess, entered the " Rock Cave of Heaven " all the earth became 
dark. The original experience in this case was evidently the obscuration of the 
sun either in an eclipse or by rain clouds. 



204 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

(" Root-Splitting-Deity "), and next Iwa-tsutsu-no-wo-no-kami 
(" Rock-Possessing-Male-Deity "). 1 The names of the deities 
that were next born from the blood that stuck to the upper part 
of his sword and again bespattered the multitudinous rock- 
masses were, Mika-no-haya-hi-no-kami (" Terrible-Swift-Fire- 
Deity ") next Hi-no-haya-hi-no-kami (" Swift- Fire-of-Fire Deity") 
and Take-mikadzuchi-no-wo-no-kami (" Brave-Thunder-Male- 
Deity " or " Brave-Terrible-Hammer-Male-Deity "). 2 .... 
The names of the deities that were next born from the blood 
that came together on the hilt of his sword and leaked out 
between his fingers were Kura-okami-no-kami (" Dark- Rain- 
Deity "f and Kura-midzu-ha-no-kami (" Dark- Water-Swift- 
Deity "). 4 " The parallel account in the Nihongi rounds out the 
number of deities born from IzanagVs sword to three sets of 
triplets by adding to the list the name of Kura-yama-tsu-mi-no- 
kami (" Dark-Mountain-Body-Deity "). 5 

How then shall we interpret a sword that, at its point breaks 
the rocks, splits the trees to the roots, and impregnates the rocks 
with fire, 6 that appears in its upper part as swift fire, giving birth 

1. For these three kami see C, p. 32. 

2. These three kami, appearing on the upper part of IzanagVs sword, have 
already been noted as those who dwelt in the Rock Cave of Heaven. 

3. The title of this deity is written g}^ finHfP in tne Kojiki and^fpjJp in tne 
Nihongi. Kura (j|§ is taken in the sense of " dark " or " black." This meaning 
is favoured in the Dai Nihon Shimmei Jisho {Cf p. 137 under Kura-okami-no- 
kami). Okami is taken in the ordinary sense of the reading H, as given in the 
Nihongi, namely "the god of rain or water" {Cf N, p. 14). The elements of 
the ideogram give the idea of a dragon god of rain (jff, « rain " and f |, " dragon "). 

4- MM&MW (Kojiki), Hfjl^jfyf [Nihongi). The Dai Nihon Shimmei 
Jisho, following Motoori, advances the interpretation that midzu (^p^) here 
carries the idea of " water" and ha (?$) the sense of sumiyaka, " swift." {Cf. Dai 
Nihon Shimmei Jisho, p. I37). The Nihongi definitely states that a certain 
Midzu- ha-no-me, born from Izanami, was a " water deity " (zKJjif). {Cf. N.,p. 12). 
Thus, on good authority, Kura-midzu-ha-no-kami may be rendered " Dark-Water- 
Swift-Deity." 

5. Cf A., I, p. 23, note 13. 

6. The Japanese myth of the deities that appear at the point of IzanagVs 
sword reflects a widespread belief that flints, which contain the element of fire, are 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 205 

to thunder — a sword that brings forth at the hilt dark, mountain- 
like masses that drip water ? Plainly, it is the picture of a 
thunder storm. Kagu-tsuchi was killed by a mighty thunder- 
storm in which, when the sword of Izanagi flashed in the sky, 
swift fire broke on the rocks and trees, Mika-dzuchi pounded 
with his hammer, Kura-okami and Kura-yama-tsu-mi-no-kami 
were seen gathering together like the masses of great black 
mountains up above, andlhen, as the climax of the entire scene, 
trickling out between the fingers of Izanagi came Midzu-ha — 
water raining down out of the black clouds upon the earth 
below. We stand here in the presence of what is probably the 
oldest picture in Japanese literature. It is indeed a picture-poem, 
certainly one of the first ever produced by the remote ancestors 
of the Japanese race. The picture placed before us here in the 
Kojiki contains all of the elements of a terrific thunder-storm 
and, be it noted, nothing more. We conclude then that the 
sword of Izanagi is the lightning flash. 

One of the Nihongl accounts still further connects the death 
of Kagu-tsuchi with a thunder-storm by introducing the variant : 
" Izanagi-no-mikoto drew his sword and cut Kagu-tsuchi into 
three nieces. One of these became the Thunder-god (Ikadzuchi-no- 
kami)} one became the Great-Mountain-Body-Deity {U-yama-tsu- 
mi-no-kami) and one became the Fierce-Rain- god {Taka-okami)."* 

thrown down by the thunderbolt, or that sacred fire, i.e. the lightning flash, falls 
from heaven and enters into "rocks, trees and herbage " {Cf. A., I, p. 29) from 
whence it may be extracted by striking or rubbing. For a clear statement of the 
meaning of the death of Kdgu tsuchi in relation to early ideas of the origin of fire 
see Revon, "Cosmogony and Cosmology (Japanese)," H. E. R. E., Vol. 4, p. 165, 
Revon does not connect the death of Kagu tsuchi with the lightning flash and the 
action of a Japanese sky -father, yet such a connection is strongly supported by the 
internal evidence of the literary records. For a statement of the early cult of 
rocks and stones in relation to sacred fire and the sky-god see Foucart, G., " Sky 
and Sky-Gods," H. E. R. E., Vol. n, p. 583. 

1. The text here leaves no room for doubt. It says plainly ffff, thunder- 
god. Cf. N., p. 18. 

2. 1ijf| Cf. N., op, at. The NiJion Shimmei Jisho (p. 189) suggests that 
taka should be taker, in the sense of takeki, '-'fierce." 



206 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTC5. 

It is difficult to see how anything other than experiences with 
seasonal storm could have produced this mythology. 

Again, when Izanagi flees from out of the lower world 
after his vain effort to possess his dead wife once more his sword 
is again unsheathed. This time it flashes " behind him " as he 
hurries on pursued by the eight deities of thunder} The evi- 
dence here also suggests the memory of seasonal storm. 

It was then a thunder-storm that killed Kagu-tsuchi, 
" Glittering-Earth." 2 He was a true child of Izanami — Fruitful 
Mother Earth — and at the same time, he was a Fire God. He 
was a specialized form of fire. He was that form of fire which 
manifested itself to the makers of the myth in their experiences 
with an intense summer heat. When it became time for him to 
be born his mother " became feverish," she " was burnt," she 
" suffered change and went away." The old mythology in 
forms that are about as plain as human words can "well be 
made thus sets forth experiences in a climate in which vege- 
tation withered and died away owing to the coming of a season 
of intense heat. It was a heat so great that it " glittered " and 
" shone ;" a very god of fire was brought forth from the womb 
of Mother Earth. And then Kagu-tsuchi died in a mighty 
storm. He was killed by the sword of the Sky-Father. Yet 
he did not altogether die. His death was the breaking of the 
drought. 

i. Cf. C, pp. 36-37. 

2. The full title of this deity is th^Ml^iM 1 {Hi-no-kagu-tsuchi-no-kami, 
" Giittering-Earth-Deity-of-Fire "). Tstichi (±J is here interpreted in the sense of 
the primary meaning of the ideograph, i.e. " earth." For similar renderings in 
the cases of other deities whose titles contain the element tsuchi or tsutsu cf. Dai 
Nihon Shim met J is ho, pp. 65, 230. Kagu is taken in the sense of kagayaku, " to 
glitter." Alternate names of this deity indicate an original experience with objects 
which contain heat or fire and which also reflect heat or glitter therewith — Hi-no- 
yagi-haya-wo-no-ka?ni, " Glittering-Swift-Male-Deity-of-Fire " or " Fire-burning- 
Swift-Male-Deity-of-Fire," Hi-no-kaga-biko-no-kami, " Glittering-Sun-child-Deity- 
of-Fire " or " Shining-Prince-Deity -of-Fire " and Ho-mnsubi-no-kami, " Fire- 
Producing-Deity." Experitnces with the dry and heated objects of summer earth 
would naturally produce such epithets. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 20J 

That Kagu-tsuchi did not altogether die is seen immedi- 
ately in the character of the deities that came from his divided 
body. Kagu-tsuchi, who, it must be remembered, is, in the 
original formative experience, only an aspect of the earth, namely, 
earth in a fiery mood, when slain by Izanagi, gives birth to 
mountains. In this connection the Kojiki says, " The name 
of the deity that was born from the head of Kagu tsucJii no 
&ami who had been slain was the Deity Possessor-of-the-True- 
Pass-Mountains. The name of the deity that was next born from 
his chest was the Deity Possessor-of-Descent-Mountains. The 
name of the deity that was next born from his belly was the 
Deity Possessor-of-the-Innermost-Mountains. The name of the 
deity that was next born from his private parts was the Deity 
Possessor-of-the-Dark-Mountains. The name of the deity that 
was next born from his left hand was the Deity Possessor-of-the- 
Densely-Wooded- Mountains. The name of the deity that 
was next born from his right hand was the Deity-Possessor- 
of-the-Outlying-Mountains. The name of the deity that was next 
born from his left toot was the Deity Possessor-of-the-Moorland- 
Mountains. The name of the deity that was next born from his 
right foot was the Deity Possessor-of-the-Outer-Mountains." 1 

The Kojiki herein sets forth a racial memory that is true to 
the experiences of the makers of the myth. One who has lived 
through the dry season of southern Asia wherein the heated 
earth cracks and the air becomes so thick and heavy with 
dust that in certain districts the sun seems to go down in 
the middle of the afternoon, knows that after the great 
storms of the south-west monsoon have killed Kagu-tsuchi, the 
air is washed clear and the mountains appear as if new-born 
from the bcdy of the earth. There is no intention of 
attempting to maintain that the storm that killed Kagu- 
tsuchi was the south-west monsoon, yet it seems fair to 
conclude that somewhere in their wide journeyings the 
ancestors of the Japanese race passed through agricultural 
i. C., P . 33. 



208 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 

experiences in a mountainous country that had a terrific summer 
heat which made it inevitable that from the slain body of Kagu- 
tsuchi should emerge mountain deities. 

We may conclude, then that the episode of the withdrawal 
of Izanami to the lower world is based on the same human 
social experiences as are similar episodes relating the withdrawal 
of similar Earth-Mother deities in other fields. These ancient 
and fundamental human experiences are agricultural, emerging 
out of the effect of seasonal changes on vegetation. In a cold 
climate when winter comes on, earth's vegetation withers and 
Mother-Earth retires. In a hot climate when the heat of sum- 
mer comes on, vegetation likewise languishes and withers, and 
the Earth-Mother grows feverish, is burnt and goes away. This 
interpretation is already widely accepted in fields outside of 
Japan. We may have little hesitation in accepting it in explana- 
tion of early Japanese mythology. The search which Izanagi 
makes for Izanami re-echoes the search of the Egyptian I sis for 
the body of Osiris} The original meaning of the death of 
At lis in the Phrygian myth of Attis and Cybele was the death 
of vegetation in winter. 2 In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, 
the Earth-Mother goddess, written probably in the seventh cen- 
tury B.C. the story is told of how Persephone, when gathering 
flowers in a field, was stolen and carried away to the under 
world. The mother saddened and languished and refused to 
produce grain that men might live. The" earth was unfruitful. 
It was finally arranged that the daughter should spend eight 
months of each year with her mother, during which time the 
earth was fruitful. 3 The languishing of the Greek Earth-Mother, 
Demeter, corresponds exactly with the sickness and departure 
of the Japanese Earth-Mother, Izanami. The Babylonian Ishtar, 
the mother of go els and men, was an ancient Earth- Goddess. 

1. Cf. Miiller, Egyptian Mythology (Mythology of All Races, Vol. XII), pp. 
113 ff. 

2. Cf. H. E. R. E., Vol. 2, p. .215. 

3. Cf. H. E. R. E., Vol. 9, p. 78. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 20g 

Her journey to the lower world in search of Tammuz was the 
ancient Babylonian interpretation of the death of vegetation. 
Vegetation died and earth's fertility ceased when Ishtar was in 
the lower world. 1 

The idea that the Japanese myth of Izanagi and Izanami 
was in some way connected with seasonal changes in vegetation 
is suggested by the fact that in the struggle between Izanagi 
and the forces of the lower world various food items— grapes, 
bamboo-sprouts, and peaches — appear as important factors in 
assisting his escape to the upper world. 2 Further connection 
with seasonal change arises from the evidence of the Nihongi 
that Izanami was anciently worshipped with a spring festival 
"by offerings of flowers." 3 Flower festivals to the Earth- 
Mother are widely distributed as, for example, " Among the 
aborigines of India, the Earth-Mother is worshipped mainly in 
connection with agricultural seasons. Sacrifices are offered, and 
she is begged to be propitious, while she has often a special 
festival, or, as among the Oraons, a spring festival celebrates her 
marriage with Heaven." 4 The Dravidians of South India wor- 
ship a Great Mother. The customary offering is flowers. 5 E. 
S. Hartland says, " Every year when the sal-tree is in blossom 
the Oraons of Bengal celebrate the marriage of the earth-goddess 
with Dharme, the sun-god." 6 Every year when the flowers on 
Mount Tsukuba in Japan begin to blossom the peasants of the 
vicinity celebrate the Ozagawari (" Great-Seat-Change ") of Iza- 
nami, that is, her journey to her shrine on the mountain top. And 

1. Regarding the point of Ishtar's relation to seasonal changes in vegeta- 
tion Jeremias remarks, " Since nature dies and comes to life again (in cosmical 
language sinks into the Underworld and then rises again), she is the goddess who 
goes with dying nature into the Underworld and who brings up the new life." 
" Die Religion in Babylonien," Allgemeine Religions-Geschichte, p. 29. 

2. Cf. C, pp. 36-7. 

3. Cf A., I, p. 21. 

4. H. E. R. E., Vol. 5, p. 129, Ref. is to Crooke, Popular Religion and 
Folkloie of N. India, Vol. I, p. 30 ff. 

5. Cf. Hopkins, E. W. The History of Religions, p. 170. 

6. H E R. E., Vol. 9, p. 823. 



2IO THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

every year when vegetation begins to wither on the mountain 
she is brought down again to the shrine at the base. While it 
is true that Izanagi likewise shares in this modern Ozagawari, 
yet the present-day, popular explanation is that it is especially 
designed to protect Izanami. The peasants of the district say 
in explanation, " It is not good that a woman should remain out 
on the mountain in the winter." It is of special interest that the 
movements of Izanami at the Tsukuba shrine should still be 
connected with seasonal changes. The old mythology of 
the south seems to have been adapted to fit a northern 
climate. 

The Earth-Mother character of Izanami is likewise to be 
found in the nature of the deities which spring from different 
parts of her body after her relations as the wife of Izanagi have 
been severed. These deities appear as the independent creation 
of Izanami and thus, on the hypothesis put forward in the pre- 
sent discussion, ought to be closely related to the earth itself. 
From the vomit of Izanami came two deities of metal, from her 
excrement two other deities who preside over clay, from her 
urine a water. deity and also a god of growth called Waka-mu- 
subi-no-kami (" Young Growth Deity "). 1 These first named 
deities may be understood as originating in an early mythological 
scheme which regards metal, clay, and water as discharges from 
the body of the Earth-Mother. In the Nihongi account the 
" Young Growth Deity "just mentioned appears as the producer 
of the silk-worm, the mulberry tree, and the five grains. 2 
" Growth " thus transforms " Earth " into these objects useful 
to man. The Kojiki relates that in the body of Izanami as she 
lay in the lower world resided eight deities of thunder. 3 We 
here have a mythological fragment which may be consistently 
interpreted as originating in primitive experiences with subter- 
ranean noises. In Teutonic mythology the thunder god Thor 

i. Cf. C, p. 29. 

2. Cf. A; I, p. 21. 

3 C/.C.,p. 3 6. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 211 

has for his mother the great giantess Jordh who is identified as 
the Earth. 1 

One of the norito has preserved the account of IzanamVs 
return to the upper world out of the Land of Night and her 
creation anew of certain deities that break the drought brought 
on by the birth of Kagu-tsuchi. The evidence seems practically- 
conclusive in identifying the movements of Izanami with the 
complete cycle of seasonal changes passed through by the 
Earth-Mother deities of other mythologies The norito which 
was formerly used in the " Fire-calming-ceremony " {Jio-shizume 
no matsuri) presents this episode thus : " The two deities 
Izanagi and Izanami became husband and wife and begot the 
eighty countries and the eighty islands and, also, they begot the 
eight hundred myriads of deities. Finally, when Izanami gave 
birth to Ho-musubi-no-kami (Fire-Producing-Deity) her private 
parts were burned and she became hidden in the rocks. ' My 
beloved husband, look not on me for the space of seven nights 
and seven days', she said. Before the end of the seven days, he 
wondered at her concealment and looked on her, and her private 
parts had been burned in giving birth to Fire. Then Izanami 
said, '*Oh, my beloved husband, thou hast put me to shame by 
looking on me at such a time when I had said, " Look not on 
me." So my beloved husband, thou must rule the upper world 
and I will rule the lower world.' And she became hidden in 
the rocks. When she reached the Even Hill of Yomi she 
thought and said, ' In the upper world, ruled over by my be- 
loved husband, I have given birth to and left behind a child of 
evil heart. So returning, she yet again gave birth to children — 
the Deity of Water, Gourd, River-leaves, and Clay-Mountain- 
Lady (Hani-yama-hime) — to these four kinds of things she gave 
birth. Then she taught Izanagi saying, ' Whenever the heart 
of this evil-hearted child becomes violent subdue it with the 



Cf. H. E. R. E., Vol. 5, p. 129. 



212 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MOERDN SHINTO. 

Deity of Water, with Gourd, with Clay-Mountain-Lady and 
with River-leaves." 1 

The introduction of the Deity of Water here as one of the 
agents in the subjection of Kagu-tsuchi reapeats the idea of the 
coming of water in the form of the two rain-deities, Kura-o-kami- 
no-kami (" Dark-Rain-Deity ") and Kura-midzu-ha-no-kami 
(" Dark-Water-Swift-Deity ") who appeared on the sword of 
the Sky-Father when he killed his child. 2 The gourd is simply 
an ancient receptacle for storing and carrying water. " River- 
leaves/' which the norito makes Izanami produce on her re- 
appearance in the upper world, strongly suggests seasonal change 
wherein the new vegetation first appears along the courses of 
streams and rivers. According to the Nihongi, Hani-yama- 
hime is an earth-goddess. 3 She is made to marry Kagu-tsiichi y 
who is also an earth deity, and the two beget between them, 
Waka-musiibi-no-kami? already mentioned as the producer of 
the five grains, the mulberry tree and the silk-worm. The 
Kojiki states that the child of this same Waka-musubi-no-kami 
was the great Food-Goddess, Toyo-uke-bime-no-kami? The 
basis of this mythology is evidently seasonal change, regarded 
as induced by the return of the Earth-Mother. This change 
brings new life to the parched earth and food to the ancient 
husbandman. That the underlying experience is recurrent with 
the coming and going of seasons is also suggested by the state- 
ment of the norito that Izanami 1 s new children are to be made 
use of " Whenever the heart of this evil-hearted child becomes 
violent." 

An item of evidence of a different character is to be found 
in the fact that the term papa has survived in Polynesian langu- 

1. Okubo y Ifatsuo, Norito Shiki Kogi (iSJKJgfi T : %g> " Lectures on the 
Norito Ceremonies," Osaka, 1908, 4th ed.), Vol. II, pp. 3-4. See also Aston, 
Shinto, pp. 315-316. 

2. See above, p. 204. 

3. Cf. A., I, p. 21. 

4. - Ibid. 

5. Cf. C, pp. 29-30. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 213 

ages with the meaning of " Earth-Mother Ml while in archaic 
Japanese the same form, papa, means " mother " 2 (modern 
Japanese haha). 

A most important argument for the Sky-Father and 
Earth-Mother characters of Izanagi and Izanami is to be found 
in their primary creative function with reference to the total 
mythological scheme of old Shinto. They are universal parents. 
They gave birth to the land, the living things of the vegetable 
world, and were the ancestors of gods and men. The Nihongi 
preserves the record of their proper position in the original my- 
thology when it says, " They produced all manner of things 
whatsoever." 3 The Kogoshui opens the account of the Japanese 
cosmogonic myth with the creative activities of this pair. They 
are the first kami introduced. The text says, " I have heard 
that at the creation of heaven and earth the two deities Izanagi 
and Izanami became man and wife. They begot the Eight 
Great Islands and also mountains, rivers, grasses and trees. 
Again, they begot the sun-goddess and the moon-god." 4 Thus 
it is that they occupy in the ancient Shinto pantheon exactly 
the positions of the Sky-Father and the Earth-Mother of other 
mythologies. 

The interpretation of Izanagi and Izanami here adopted 
assigns them an importance consistent with the place which 
they occupy in the Shinto pantheon. For although in that 
portion of the mythology which clearly reflects the influence of 
the political organization of ancient Yamato culture the Sun- 
Goddess, Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami, takes precedence over all other 
deities, yet in the original cosmogonic myth, itself, the activities 
of Izanagi and Izanami are central. The probable reasons for 



1. Cf. Tregear, op. cit., p. 314. 

2. Cf. T. A. S. J., Vol. 16, p. 262. 

3- mvm&msn, n., p . i 3 . 

4. Saeki, A., Kogoshui Kogi (&f£^ii, "SfHIJ&jJtSlit, " Lectures on the 
Kogoshui" Pub. by the Kogaku Shoin, loth ed., Tokyo, 1921), p, 4. 



214 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

this rise of the cult of the Sun-Goddess and the subordination of 
the Sky-Father and Earth-Mother will be considered later. Aston 
classifies Izanagi and Izanaml under the heading of gods of 
abstraction and regards them as " evidently creations of sub- 
sequent date to the Sun-Goddess and other concrete deities, for 
whose existence they were intended to account." 1 Izanagi and 
his mate are assigned by this scholar " to that stage of religious 
progress in which the conception has been reached of powerful 
sentient beings separate from external nature." 2 The interpre- 
tation of origin which Aston is thus led to accept is that they 
were suggested to the ancient Japanese writers by the Yin and 
the Yang, or the male and the female principles, of Chinese 
philosophy. 

Against Aston's view can be advanced the thoroughly 
concrete character of Izanagi and Izanami as indicated by the 
evidence given above. They are not abstractions formulated to 
give a theoretical account of older deities. The central position 
which these original parents occupy in the Japanese mythology 
makes it hardly possible that they could have been borrowed 
from Chinese philosophy without the entire cosmogonic scheme 
having been likewise taken over. With all the obvious Chinese 
influence in the Nihongi there is no evidence of such extensive 
and early borrowing from China as is made necessary by Aston's 
theory. Izanagi and Izanami must be taken as original Japan- 
ese deities. They are the concrete expression of primitive ex- 
periences with the phenomena of earth and sky, interpreted in 
terms of a social life that is still so undeveloped as to be confined 
almost entirely to the events of the parent-child group. This 
alone is proof of a great antiquity. 

Similar objections are to be advanced against the interpre- 
tation which overemphasizes a phallic character for these deities. 8 
The theory here builds to a large extent on etymological con- 

1. Shinto, p. 169. 

2. Ibid., p. 170. 

3. So Buckley, Phallicism in Ja_pan } pp. 22-26. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 215 

siderations. It follows Motoori in assigning to the words Iza- 
nagi and Izanami an origin in izanau, " to invite," while gi and 
mi are taken as equivalents of " male " and " female " respec- 
tively ; hence the meanings, " Male-Who-Invites " and " Female- 
Who-Invites," i.e., invites to sexual relations. 1 The naive detail 
with which the Kojiki enters into a description of the first creative 
activity of this pair lends some plausibility to the interpretation. 
That phallic practices have been a "part of the worship of 
Izanagi and Izanami is beyond question. Yet phallicism is not 
the key to their interpretation. On the other hand, an isolated 
phallic theory does not do justice to their position in the cosmo- 
gonic scheme. Phallicism, with an underlying relation to fertility 
rites, has a world-wide association with Earth-Mother cults. 2 For 
example, Priapus, the Greek phallic deity, was the son of Aphro- 
dite, an original earth-goddess. 3 The Isis and Osiris cult of 
Egypt appears to have been associated with phallicism. 4 Male 
and female emblems with the meaning of fertility charms, appear- 
ed in the ceremonies of both the Arrephoria and the Thesmo- 
phoria. 5 Among the Yoruba on the west coast of Africa the 
Earth-Mother is also a phallic deity. 6 It is altogether to be 
expected that phallic rites should be associated especially with 
Izanami in her character as universal mother. 

1. Cf. C, p. 18, note 8. At the present stage of investigation, the attempt 
to argue from the meaning of these names to the functions of the deities is pre- 
carious. Aston prefers to take isa {iza) as a place-name ; hence, " the Male of 
Iza" and "the Female of Iza " {Shinto, p. 172). A recent Japanese explanation 
attempts to interpret iza in the sense of " beginning " or " first " ; hence, " the 
First Male " and " the First Female " {Cf. Meiji Seitoku Kinen Gakkai Kiyo y 
Vol. 16, p. 125). 

2. For references consult art. " Phallism," H.E.R.E., Vol. 9. 

3. Ibia. 

4. Ibid. 

5. Cf. Harrison, Themis p. 266, also pp. 396^,451 ff. "At Syracuse, 
on the day of the Thesmophoria cakes of sesame and honey representing the 
female sex were carried about and offered to the goddesses — pro- 
bably Demeter and Kore " (H E.R.E., Vol. 9, p. 818). 

6. H.E.R.E., op. cit. 



2l6 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

The foregoing discussion is offered as evidence that in 
Izanagi is preserved the memory of an ancient Japanese Sky- 
Father and in his mate, Izanami, the idea of a great Earth- 
Mother. Izanagi is a being who produces the deities of sun 
and moon from his eyes, the storm-god from his nostrils, whose 
breath is the wind, whose tears are probably rain-drops and who 
carries a sword which is the lightning flash. Izanami, his mate, 
is a being who has the double function of an earth-goddess 
of the upper world and of the lower world, whose body is as- 
sociated with the things that come from out the earth such as 
metal, clay, water and growing crops. Her death and depar- 
ture into the underworld are to be interpreted as an ancient 
statement of the effects of seasonal change on vegetation. 
The early mythology, in spite of its existing fragmentary char- 
acter, still preserves the account of her return from the 
lower world with reviving life. Izanagi, also, seems to have 
brought new vegetation with him out of the land of Yomi and 
modern local ceremonial still retains the influence of the idea 
that Izanami properly goes up to the mountain top with the 
returning life of spring. Finally the two are universal parents. 
In all these points the correspondence with Sky-Fathers and 
Earth-Mothers of other peoples is close. 

Such are the kami in whom modern Shinto still finds 
original parents for the Imperial Family and for the general popu- 
lace alike. The sense in which they are to be taken as ancestors 
is plain. In tracing the royal line back to Izanagi and Izanami 
the modern genealogists have been true to pure Japanese tradi- 
tion, but at the same time they have evidently builded better than 
they know. The line as thus established does reach back to 
" immemorial ages." We have, indeed, the extraordinary 
spectacle of a modern state supporting its political fabric with a 
genealogical scheme that has come straight down out of a primi- 
tivity so remote as to bear the impress of a mythology that was 
probably formulated as man's first attempt at a systematic world- 
view. The historicity of the two great ancestors who head the 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 21/ 

royal genealogies as given in the modern " History for Middle 
.Schools " is to be estimated exactly as we estimate the historical 
validity of Sky- Father and Earth-Mother myths elsewhere. The 
study here carries us into the field of pure mythology and not 
into that of history, as such. 

In assigning the above value to Izanagi and Izanami we 
need not be led astray by the fact that the mythology so fully 
anthropomorphizes and domesticates them. Izanagi is pictured 
in the myth as a patriarch who marries and begets children, who 
wears clothes and carries a weapon with which he takes the life 
of a child. The legend of his final place of " concealment " on 
the Island of Ahaji is carefully preserved. 1 Izanami is a woman 
who dies in childbirth and who is buried at Arima of Kumano. 2 
Folk lore does the same thing for similar deities elsewhere, how- 
ever. Greek tradition, for example, has likewise preserved the 
knowledge of the places of birth and burial of the Sky-god, 
Zeus. 3 E. W. Hopkins has fittingly called attention to the fact 
that the German thunder-god, Thor, was not regarded merely 
as a noise in the sky but as '■ a heavenly man with a decent 
family of his own and with intimate relations with his clan on 
earth." 4 Such socialization of experience with nature is indeed 
an inevitable part of the evolution of human thought. 

In connection with the early ideas of the relations of Heaven 
and Earth a further matter is to be noted. Japanese my- 
thology bears clear traces of the influence^ of a conception 
that, at one time, Heaven hung close down over Earth and 
possibly, also, of the idea that the two were subsequently 
separated through the efforts of the divine beings who lived 
in between them. A similar idea is widespread in the Oceanic 
area. The extent of the geographical distribution of a notion 

1. Cf, A., I., p. 34. 

2. Ibid., p. 21. 

3. Cf. Fox, W. S., Greek and Roman Mythology, pp. 154 ff. j Harrison, 
op. cit., pp. I-15. 

4. Hopkins, E. W., The History of Religions, p. 8. 



21 8 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

of the original close proximity of Heaven and Earth and 
their final separation, constitutes one of the remarkable features 
of Oceanic mythology, passing, as it does, throughout almost 
the entire Polynesian and Indonesian areas. The myth occurs in 
India, Borneo, in the Philippines, in the Celebes, in the Marshall 
Islands, in New Zealand and the Chatham Islands, in Samoa and 
the Union Group. In the account from the New Hebrides the 
sky originally hung so low as to be struck by a woman as she 
worked with mortar and pestle. In the mythology of both the 
Cook Group and the Society Islands the sky at first rested as far 
down over the earth as the leaves of plants growing on her 
surface. 1 

The New Zealand myth of the separation of Heaven and 
Earth presents noteworthy features, that, in certain respects, 
ssem to shed light on fragments in old Japanese mythology. As 
summarized by Tregear from the graphic accounts of Maori 
chiefs and priests compiled by Sir George Grey, the outlines of 
the story are as follows. " Rangi (Heaven) and Papa (the 
Earth) lay clinging in a close embrace, so intertwined that the 
children they had begotten dwelt in darkness in their narrow 
realm. These children who afterwards became the great gods 
of men, resolved to rend their parents apart, and, after taking 
long counsel together essayed the task. One only, Tawhiri- 
matea, the Lord of Winds and Storm, was grieved at the deci- 
sion, and refused to join in the forcible divorce of Rangi and 
Papa. Rongo-ma-Tane, Tangaroa, Huamia-tiketike, and Tu- 
mata-uenga all attempted the ' rending apart ' in vain ; but the 
mighty Tane-ma-huta, the Lord of Forests, at length forced 
Rangi upwards from the breast of his wife, and let in the light 
of day." 2 

In a further Maori account, presenting new details, Tane is 
assisted by Paia, his younger brother. The story relates how, 
after Raki (Rangi) and Papa had spoken words of affectionate 

1. Dixon, Oceanic Mythology, pp. 30-36, p. 322 note 93. 

2. Tregear, Maori- Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, p. 391 ff. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF M3DERN SHINTO. 2IO, 

farewell, " Paia uplifted Raki, and Tane placed his toko (pole) 
• . . . between Papa and Ragi. Paia did likewise with his 
toko. . . . Then Raki floated upward, and a shout of 
approval was uttered by those up above, who said, ' O Tu of 
the long face, lift up the mountain.' Such were the words 
shouted by the inumerable men (beings) from above in approval 
of the acts of Tane and Paia ; but that burst of applause was 
mostly in recognition of Tane's having disconnected the heaven, 
and propped up its sides, and made them stable." 1 

On the Japanese side according to the Nihongi account, at 
the time in which the creative activity of- Izanagi and Izanami 
was in operation, Heaven lay close down over Earth. They 
were so near together that it was possible to send both the Sun- 
Goddess and Moon-God up into the sky by erecting a ladder 
between Earth and Heaven — " At this time Heaven and Earth 
were still not far separated, and therefore they sent her [the 
Sun-Goddess] up to Heaven by the ladder of Heaven. 2 Again 
an arrow shot from Earth punctured Heaven and passed through 
into the midst of the deities dwelling therein. 8 

The Nihongi opens with the statement, " In ancient times, 
Heaven and Earth were not yet separated." Thereupon follows 
the passage already considered which relates how Heaven and 
Earth evolved out of primitive chaos, ending with the statement, 
" Thus Heaven was formed first and Earth was established after- 
wards." In immediate sequence appears a passage which liter- 
ally reads, " And Divine Beings existed in between " or ** And 
Divine Beings lived in this interior (space)", 4 a form of statement 
which makes at this point a close similarity between the Oceanic 
and the Japanese mythologies. 

The question naturally arises, is the similarity any closer ? 
Is there anything in the old Japanese records indicating an idea 

1. White, Ancient History of the Maori, Vol. I, p. 46. 

2. A., I, p. 18. 

3. C, I, p. 96. 

4. mm&g&n- c/.N.,p. 1. 



220 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

that these deities dwelling between Heaven and Earth constituted 
the. agency whereby the separation was accomplished ? While 
it is true that in the Japanese records this theme of separation Is 
not expressly elaborated, yet Japanese mythology does state 
explicitly that there was a time when Heaven and Earth were 
still close together, and in one passage of the Kojiki there appears 
a statement bearing on the subject of separation which looks like 
the outcropping of an old mythological bed-rock which was 
assumed as well-known popular belief at the time of the 
compilation of the Kojiki. The passage in question appears 
in the form of a note or commentary in the original text. 
It comes immediately after the account of the beginning of 
Heaven and Earth wherein the names of the first five Heavenly 
Deities of the Kojiki are recorded. The note then says, *■ The 
five deities in the above list are the deities who disconnected 
Heaven." 1 Such a translation, although involving a departure 
from the interpretation of the Japanese commentators, is not forced ; 
on the other hand, it follows the plain meaning of the ideograms. 2 

It will be noted that in the Maori account given above we 
likewise have five deities involved in the attempt to raise up 
Heaven. It is not impossible that the Japanese annotator is 
emphasizing a numerical factor, as if it were a well-known idea 
that the number of deities should here total exactly five. 

In this same connection the similarity between the Japanese 
and Polynesian myths extends to a further interesting detail. It 
will be recalled that in the variant Maori account given above, 
Tane, the great god who labored with the most effect in the 
separation of Heaven and Earth, was assisted by his younger 
brother, Paia, and that the disconnection was facilitated by the 
erection of poles {toko) between the bodies of Rangi and Papa. 
Toko throughout Polynesia has the meaning of " pole," " prop " 



I- ±i$&&%mX%%- kojiki, p. I (Ed. ft±M3C, Tokyo, 1899). Note 
jglj, wakaru, " to separate," " to divide " ; wakare, " a separation," " a parting." 
2. Cf. C, p. 16, n. 11. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINT5. 221 

or *' staff." 1 Although Tane t himself, does not appear to have 
been called a toko-god, that is, a ' prop '-god in Maori mytho- 
logy, yet a whole series of such deities is associated with him. 
Their names are variously given as Toko-mna, Joko-roto, Joko- 
pa> Toko-maunga, Toko-hurunuku, Tako-hururangi, Joko-ruati- 
pua, Toko-kapiika, and Toko-tupua? On the Japanese side we 
have two toko gods listed in the ancient mythologies, namely, 
Ame-no-toko-tachi-no-kami and Kuni-no-toko-tachi-no-kami, or 
" Heavenly-fo&7-standing-deity " and " Earthly-^^-standing- 
deity. It is to be noted that the former of these two kami is 
deity number five in the list of Japanese gods who " disconnect- 
ed Heaven" — to adopt the rendering already suggested. The 
evidence would appear to be almost complete if toko could be 
interpreted as an ancient Japanese word for " pole " or " prop." 
The archaic Japanese word for " pole," however, is poko or 
/toko. 3 The latter form has survived in the modern language 
with the meaning of " spear." Further study may yet show 
that in the ancient Japanese language the word which we now 
call " hoko " was pronounced toko. At the present stage of 
information on the point, however, it is necessary to take 
toko in the sense of ft eternal " or " eternally." Thus we 
have " Heavenly-eternally-standing deity " and " Earthly-eternal- 
ly-standing-deity " as the titles of these two Japanese toko 
gods. Even thus the idea of " eternally standing " as applied 

1. Toko, " pole " (Maori) ; " canoe-pole " (Tonga, Futuna) ; " prop " (Niue) ; 
" raft-pole " (Mangareva) ; toko-toko, " pole " (Mukuoro) ; " staff" (Futuna, Niue, 
Uvea) ; " stick " (Marquesas). Cf. Churchill, Polynesian Wanderings, p. 420. 

2. Tregear, op. cit., p. 528, 529. 

3. The sacred pole or pillar under the name of Ama-no-saka-hoko, " Heaven- 
ly-Hill-Pillar " or " Heavenly-Hill- Pole," is found among the ceremonial objects 
of ancient Shinto. The Hari?na Ftirfoki relates that when Jing5 Kogo set out for 
the conquest of Korea, the ship on which she traveled was equipped with sacred 
pillars called Ama-no-saka-hoko, set up forward and aft. As a result the ex_ 
pedition went in safety across the sea and Shiragi was punished. On return to 
Japan the hoko were set up and worshipped as pole-gods. Harima Ftidoki, ed. by 
Xonakamura Kiyomori, 1863. One of these pillar-gods still stands at Takachiho 
in Hyuga. 



222 THE POLITICAL PHILOSCPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

to a prop-god who must ever remain in place lest Heaven 
fall back upon Earth is rot altogether inappropriate. If it 
is legitimate to assume here a background of primitive mytho- 
logy common to both the Japanese and the Polynesian areas, 
then certainly the interpretation of Ame-no-toko-tachi-no-kami as 
one of the important agents in the separation of Heaven and 
Earth introduces intelligible content into the title of this particu- 
lar Japanese deity. Is Ame-no-toko-tachi-no-kami to be equated 
with the great Polynesian deity Tane or with deities directly 
associated with him ? The evidence may not be strong enough 
to bear the weight of such a conclusion, yet some of the simi- 
larities appear close. Jane-ma-hut a was the Lord of Forests, the 
father of all things that inhabit them or that are made from trees. 1 
He also appears as the male principle of generation. The Japanese 
word for male is otoko (archaic form, wo-toko). One naturally asks, 
is not the part which the mythology assigns Tane in the separation 
of Heaven and Earth an expression of the ancient idea that the 
sky once rested on the trees and that they thus constituted the 
props that separated Heaven and Earth ? On the Japanese side 
the mythology is too fragmentary at this point to make an exact 
determination. Yet the title 7oko-tachi-no-kami } interpreted as 
in the preceding discussion, is not unfitting when applied to trees # 
The Nihongi states that Ame-no-toko-tachi-no-mikoto was created 
by the transformation of a thing that appeared between Heaven 
and Earth, in form like a reed shoot. 2 The origin of this deity 
is here explicitly connected with vegetation. Likewise, Kuni- 
no-toko-tachi-mo-kami is an ancient Japanese god of growth. 

Whatever the correct explanation of these deities may be, 
it is especially important to note their positions in the genealogi- 
cal tables. On the Japanese side a Toko-tachi-no-kami heads 
the Nihongi genealogies (Kuni-no-tokc-tachi in Sect. I and Ama- 
no-toko-tachi in Sect. III). On the Polynesian side lane under 



1. Grey, op. cit., p. 2. 

2. Cf. A., I, p. 3. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 223 

the name of Kane is the greatest of the deities of Hawaii. The 
same god occupies seventh place in the royal genealogies of the 
Maori (Ngati-Maniapoto tribe) 1 and third place in the genealo- 
gies of the Moriori. 2 

We turn next to the consideration of certain other person- 
ages of the ancient Shinto pantheon who figure prominently in the 
modern official cult. 

1. Tregear, op. cit., p. 667. 

2. Ibid., p. 669. 



224 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

CHAPTER VII. 
The Cult of the Sun-Goddess. 

The reestablishment in the modern period of a form of 
government which supersedes the particularism of the feudal 
regime with a state organization that goes back for many of 
its ideals and methods to the Great Reform of 645 A.D. 1 and 
which, thereby, attempts to find its political and emotional foci 
in the institution of imperial sovereignty, has been accompanied 
by a corresponding revival of the ancient cult of the Sun- 
Goddess, Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami. She is officially interpreted 
as the Great Ancestor of the Imperial Line and as the original 
organizing mind that gave rise to the foundation of the Japa- 
nese state. Thus she is accorded a central position not only 
in the ceremonial life of the Shinto shrines, but also in 
the moral instruction of the government schools of modern 
Japan. 

While it is true that Izanagi and Izanami are recognized 
as original parents of the race, yet it is in the Sun-Goddess and 
her Imperial Descendants that modern political Shinto seeks to 
find the clearest definition of its interests and the explanation 
of its origins. Professor Kono's definition of Shinto as a system 
that has developed on the foundation of the idea of reverence 
from a center in the Great Deity, Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami? is 
merely a reflection of the contemporary teaching of the Japa- 
nese government. This fact is well seen in. the insistence with 

1. Cf. Murdoch, James, A History of Japan, Vol. I, pp. 142-180; Asakawa, 
K., The Early Institutional Life of Japan, pp. 136-333. 

2. See above, p. 84. Note also the following, " This Sun Goddess, now- 
worshipped at the shrine of Ise, is the center of the Shinto system and the chief 
object of worship, both as the life-giving principle of the world, the source of 
light and happiness, and as the Divine Ancestor of the Imperial Family, which is 
the Grand Patriarchal Family of the whole nation." Kato, N., " Eastern Ideals 
and the Japanese Spirit*," T. J. S. L., Vol. XIII (1914-15), Pt. I, p. 123. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 22$ 

which the government itself propagates the idea that Ania- 
terasu-d-mi-kami is an actual historical ancestor of the royal 
line. The acceptance of such teaching regarding this deity 
is hereby made a fundamental part of the development of the 
sentiments of loyalty and patriotism. The connection thus 
established between the doctrines of divine imperial sovereignty 
and of patriotism on the one hand and the cult of Ama-terasu- 
o-mi-kami on the other is far too intimate to permit us to believe 
that the government intends that its promulgations regarding 
the Sun-Goddess are to be taken as founded on anything 
other than authentic history. 

We may turn first then to the consideration of the position 
which Ama-ierasii-o-mi-kami is assigned in the nationalistic 
moral . training of the modern Japanese educational system. 
Although attention has already been called to the great impor- 
tance that is officially attached to the inculcation of correct 
ideas regarding the place- of this deity in the Imperial genea- 
logies, yet the vital relationship which the matter has to Japan- 
ese political philosophy, especially as it functions in the public 
schools, necessitates that this be given detailed consideration. 

The statement translated immediately below is taken from 
"Book I of a series of " Teacher's Manuals " that accompany 
the text-books on Japanese history published by the Depart- 
ment of Education. In these helps for teachers the lessons of 
the text-books used by the children are taken up in order and 
detailed official direction is given the teachers regarding the 
object and meaning of each lesson, as well as methods of 
instruction to be utilized in fixing the important ideas in the 
memories of the pupils. No better material exists for the study 
of the inner working of the Japanese official mind as it attempts 
to carry out " the unification of the thinking of the people." 

In exposition of the meaning of a text-book lesson on 
Amctrterasu-o-mi-kami y the Teacher's Guide in national history 
says, " Amarierasu-o-mi'kami is the distant August Ancestor of 
our Emperor. The exceeding loftiness and universality of her 



226 TEE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN iHIMTO. 

majesty and virtue are like the shining of the sun in heaven, 
which illuminates the world so that thereby all things accom- 
plish their growth. All people alike are bathed in her favors. 
The successive generations of Emperors are all her offspring. 
The august lineage of the Great Deity, in an unbroken line, is 
as everlasting as heaven and earth. The Grand Imperial 
Shrine (Kodai Jingu) of the city of Uji Yamada in the country 
of Ise is the shrine where this Great Deity is worshipped. The 
shrine sanctuary is simple, yet no other can be compared with 
it in dignity. 

" Our Empire of Great Japan is the country over which, 
in the beginning, Ama-tei'asu-o-mi-kami caused her grandson, 
Ninigi-no-mikoto, to rule. The Great Deity determined that 
this country should be ruled over eternally by her descendants, 
saying, ' The prosperity of the Imperial Throne shall be as 
everlasting as heaven and earth.' The Imperial Dynasty, as 
eternal as heaven and eaith, was herein determined and the 
foundations of our Empire of Great Japan which is peerless 
throughout the world, were as a matter of fact established 
herewith. Accordingly the successive generations of Emperors 
have all ruled over the empire in conformity with the purport 
of the Divine Edict. They have spread abroad benevolent gov- ' 
ernment and have not ceased to plan for the happiness of the 
people. For this reason the Imperial Rescript on Education 
makes the declaration, ' Our Imperial Ancestors have founded 
Our Empire on a basis broad and everlasting and have deeply 
and firmly implanted virtue.' 

" When Ninigi-no-mikoto was about- to leave the presence 
of Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami and come down into this country, she 
purposely bestowed on him a sword, a mirror and (certain) 
jewels. These are called the Three Sacred Treasures. When 
Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami presented the mirror to the Prince she 
said, ' When you look into this mirror, regard it as looking on 
me, myself From that time on the successive generations of 
Emperors have handed on the Sacred Treasures and have made 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINT5. 2.2J 

them the symbols of the Imperial Throne. Afterwards, out of 
a fear lest the divine influence of the Sacred Treasures should 
be defiled, a shrine was especially built for them and they were 
reverently worshipped by the Emperors. Then reproductions 
were made- of the mirror and the sword and these (reproduc- 
tions) together with the jewels were enshrined in the Imperial 
Palace and the Emperors have served them just as if they were 
in the presence of the Great Deity. 

" Ninigi-no-mikoto, in conformity with the Divine' Edict of 
the Great Deity, descended upon Hyuga in order that he might 
rule over this countiy, bringing with him the Three Sacred 
Treasures. This is called the descent of the Heavenly Grand- 
son {Tenson no korln). Thereupon three generations resided in 
Hyuga, and then we come to the age of Emperor Jimmu. The 
Imperial influence has spread widely since the age of Emperor 
Jimmu, and the condition of the country has greatly improved. 
From this time on we have what is called the Age of Human 
Emperors, which is thus distinguished from the previous 
age." 1 

Directions to teachers following immediately upon the 
above exposition of the meaning of the text, present the point 
of view of the Department of Education regarding the objects 
which the instruction should here endeavour to attain. The 
official statement says, "It is required that by means of this 
lesson the august, divine influence of Ama-ierasit-o-mi-kami be 
extolled, the descent of our Imperial Family made clear and 
the source of our national organization (kokutai), which is with- 
out peer in all the world, made known." 2 

The instructions to teachers further stipulate : " The 
teacher should carefully explain this national constitution which 
is peerless in all the world and should deepen- in the children 



1. Jinjo SJwgaku Nihon Rekhhi, Kyoshi Yd (^^/h^0P^^&, WlW"&> 
** Japanese History for Ordinary Primary Schools, Teacher's Guide," Tokyo, 
1912), No. 1, pp. 1-3. 

2. Ibid., p. 4. 



228 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

the ideas of reverence for the Imperial Family and of love of 
country." 1 

Similar evidence is abundantly furnished in the publica- 
tions of the Department of Education. In this, the matter 
before us for special attention is the extent to which the modern 
Japanese government makes use of a mythology centering in 
the Sun-Goddess of Shinto as a means of furnishing support 
for the existing organization of the state. 

Book V of " Text-books of Ethics for Ordinary Primary 
Schools," also published by the Department of Education says, 
" In ancient times Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami sent down Ninigi-no- 
mikoto and caused him to rule over this country. The great- 
grandchild of this Prince was the Emperor Jimmu. More than 
2570 years have elapsed since the accession to the throne of 
this Emperor. 2 His descendants throughout successive genera- 
tions have ascended the throne. There are many countries in 
the world, but there is no other which, like our Empire of 
Great Japan, has over it a line of Emperors of one and the 
same dynasty throughout the ages. Moreover, the successive 
generations of Emperors have loved Their subjects as children, 
and our ancestors all revered the Imperial Family and fulfilled 
the principles {michi) of loyalty and patriotism. 3 We, who are 
born in such a precious country, who have over us such 
an august Imperial Family, who, again, are the descendants 
of subjects who have bequeathed such beautiful customs, 
must become splendid Japanese and do our utmost for oui 
Empire." 4 

The official explanation of the above, as given in the 
corresponding Teacher's Manual, adds nothing to the meaning 
but seeks to drive home the obvious moral by saying in con- 

1. Ibid., p. 5. 

2. Published in I9I3. 

3. As a means of checking this statement consult references given above 
p. 120, n. I. 

4. Jinjo Shdgaku Shushin Sho (H^/J^l^ J|.-g, " Text-book of Ethics for 
Ordinary Primary School?," Tokyo, 1913), No. V, pp. 1-2. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 229 

elusion, " There are many countries in the world, but there is 
not a single other which like ours has over it a line of Emperors- 
unbroken for ages eternal. Is it not a great blessing that we 
are born in such an exalted country? ' n In connection with 
this same lesson, directions for teachers further say, " The 
object of this lesson is to make known the national constitution 
(kokntai) of the Empire of Great Japan and (thus) stimulate 
the spirit of loyalty and patriotism." 2 

The government goes still farther in supervising the details 
of instruction* by providing for the teacher's use practice ques- 
tions based on the text. The first three questions relating to 
the lesson just examined may be translated : 

" I. What did Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami say when she sent 
down Ninigi-no-mikoto ? 

"2. What deeds did the Emperor Jimmu perform ? 

" 3. In what does the Empire of Great Japan differ from 
other countries ? " 3 

The expected answers to these questions do not need to 
be pointed out. 

Such fostering of national morality in the public schools is 
even more directly identified with the ceremonial of official 
Shinto by means of instruction that carefully focuses attention 
and interest in the Grand Imperial Shrine of Ise, where the Sun- 
Goddess, " the Ancestor of the reigning Emperor," is worship- 
ped. Book VI of the " Text-books of Ethics for Ordinary Primary 
Schools " contains a lesson which says, " The Grand Imperial 
Shrine {Kodai Jingu) is the shrine where the Imperial Ancestor, 
Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami, is reverently worshipped. It is located 
in the city of Uji Yamada. The shrine grounds are situated 
at the foot of Mount Kamiji on land which follows along the 
Isuzu River in a spot that is quiet and far-separated from (city) 
dust. Among the people who enter here there is not one 

1. Jinjo Shogaku Shushin Sho, Kyoshi Yd, No. V, p. 2. 

2. Ibid., p. I. 

3. Ibid., p. 4. 



23O THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHiNTO. 

i 

who, unmindful of the majesty of the divine influence, fails to 
assume an attitude of reverence. 

" The adoration given the Grand Imperial Shrine by the 
Imperial Court is of an extraordinary nature. Whenever there 
is an affair of great importance either in the Imperial House- 
hold or in the nation the Emperor makes personal announce- 
ment thereof at the Grand Imperial Shrine. Each year at the 
Ceremony of Commencing Governmental Transactions, the first 
thing done is to receive a report of the affairs of the Shrine. 
At the Festival of Prayer for the Year's Crops {llinen Sal), at 
the Festival of Presentation of First Fruits (Kanname Sal) and 
at the Harvest Festival (Niiname Sal), the Emperor sends an 
Imperial messenger (to the Grand Shrine) and presents offerings 
(Jieihakii). At the time of dispatching the Imperial messenger 
the Emperor personally views the offerings and hands a ritua- 
listic report (saifam) to the messenger. Also, the Emperor 
does not withdraw to the inner palace prior to the retirement 
of the Imperial messenger. 1 Again, on the day of the Festival 
of Presentation of First Fruits a solemn ceremony of distant 
worship (toward the Grand Shrine of Ise) is carried out by the 
Emperor. 

" In accordance with a regulation that the sanctuary of 
the shrine shall be reconstructed every twenty years, the 
Emperor performs a solemn ceremony of ' Shrine-Removal-and- 
Renovation.' The Emperor Meiji took a deep interest in the 
affairs of the removal of the shrine, wrote minutely regarding 
matters of construction and personally inspected the details. 
The unparalleled majesty of the Grand Imperial Shrine may be 
known from the fact that it is thus regarded with deep reverence 
at the Royal Court. We subjects must always venerate the 
Grand Imperial Shrine and take care to maintain the Imperial 
Destiny which is as everlasting as heaven and earth." 2 



1. Thus reversing ordinary court procedure and thereby showing special 
respect to the Sun-Goddess. 

2. Jinjo Shogaku Shushin Sho (Tokyo, 1913), No. VI, pp. 1-3. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 23 1 

The instructions to teachers inform us that the object of 
the above lesson is to deepen the sentiment of reverence for 
Imperial Ancestors by imparting information regarding the 
greatness of the veneration with which the Grand Imperial 
Shrine is regarded at the royal court. 1 

The educational authorities recognize the fact that this 
veneration on the part of the Imperial Family amounts to 
worship which includes prayer to the Sun Goddess for aid and 
protection. In an effort to prove the proposition of an extra- 
ordinary position in the ceremonies of the royal court the 
Teacher's Manual cites the following poem written by the late 
Emperor Meiji : 

" Tokoshie ?ii tami yasukare to inoru nam, 
Waga yo wo mamore, he no Okami. 2 

The meaning may be rendered : 

" I pray that Thou wilt keep the people in peace forever 
And guard my reign, Oh, Thou Great Deity of Ise." 

The text here furnishes the teacher with a statement ad- 
dressed to the children which says, " You have already learned 
that the Emperor thus prayed for the aid of the divine spirits 
of the Imperial Ancestors." 3 

Book III in the same series of text-books on ethics pub- 
lishes a picture representing the approach to the Grand Shrine 
of Ise and in explanation says, " Here in the midst of luxuriant 
and aged cryptomeria trees is seen a venerable shrine. This 
picture shows the appearance of the Grand Imperial Shrine of 
Ise. This is the shrine where Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami, the 
Ancestor of the Emperor is worshipped {jnatsurii). Even the 
Emperor habitually regards it with care. We Japanese must 
revere this shrine (kono omiya wo uyamawanakereba narima- 

1. Jinjo Shogaku Shushin Sho, Kyoshi Yd (Tokyo, 1913), p. I. 

2. Ibid., p. 3. 

3. Ibid. Cf. also Jinjo Shogaku Tokuhon, No. VIII (Tokyo, 1915), p- 7. 

4. Jinjo Shogaku Shushin Sho, No. Ill (Tokyo, 19 19), pp. 28-9. 



232 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

The Teacher's Manual again emphasizes the moral by 
saying, " The object of this lesson is to nourish the spirit 
of loyalty and patriotism by imparling information regard- 
ing the Grand Imperial Shrine." 1 The teacher is further 
furnished with an official exhortation addressed to the children 
thus : " In as much as Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami is the Ancestor 
of the Emperor she is the most venerated deity in our land of 
Japan. And since the Grand Imperial Shrine is the sanctuary 
where this Great Deity is worshipped, those who are Japanese 
must both respect the Emperor and must always revere and 
honor this shrine. You children should also await a suitable 
opportunity for going to worship (sanpai) at the Grand Imperial 
Shrine and in addition to gaining an understanding of the 
nobility of the national constitution should pray for the pros- 
perity of the Imperial Family (koshitsu no onsakae wo inori 
tatematsuru beki Jiari)." 2 

Further directions to teachers say, " In connection with 
this lesson instruction should be given in the matter of rever- 
ence for shrines." 3 

The ideal of a pilgrimage to Ise is again held before the 
children in a passage to be found in one of the ordinary school 
readers, which says, " The veneration which successive gene- 
rations of Emperors have manifested toward the Grand Im- 
perial Shrine is exceedingly great.. The people have also 
deeply venerated the shrine and there i^ no one who does not 
purpose, without fail, to go and worship at Ise at least once in 
a life time." 4 

In one of the school readers for Korean children, pre- 
pared under the direction of the Japanese Government for 
Korea, there is likewise an account of the Grand Shrine of 
the Sun-Goddess which makes explanation of a picture of the 

1. Jinjo Shogaku Shushin SJ10, Kyoshi Yd, No. Ill (Tokyo, I918), p. 54. 

2. Ibid., p. 55. 

3. Ibid., p. 56. 

4. Jinjo Shogaku Tokuhon, No. VIII (Tokyo, 1915), p. I. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 233 

shrine with the words, " Here is a great torii. To the rear of 
the torii is a shrine. Around about it great trees grow luxuri- 
antly so as even to shut off the view of the sky. This is the 
Grand Imperial Shrine of Ise, the venerable shrine where 
Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami is worshipped. 

" Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami is the distant Ancestor of the 
Emperor and in very ancient times conferred deep blessings 
on the people. She taught the people how to plant rice and 
how to rear silkworms. 

" On the seventeenth of each October, at the Festival of 
Presentation of First Fruits, the Emperor offers the first ears of 
rice of the year at the Grand Imperial Shrine. Also, on the 
twenty-third of each November at the Harvest Festival the 
Emperor worships the Grand Imperial Shrine and other deities 
and partakes of the first ears of rice of the year [late crop]." 1 

In the directions for study that follow this lesson, question 
number two says, " What kind of a person was Ama-terasu-o- 
mi-kami ? Tell about this." 2 

" Text-book of Ethics for Ordinary Primary Schools," 
Book III, says in its conclusion, " To be a good Japanese one 
must constantly look up to the viitues of the Emperor and the 
Empress and, also, must constantly revere the Grand Imperial 
Shrine and (thus) stimulate a heart of loyalty and patriotism." 3 
Book IV in this same series says, " We must be ever mindful 
of the depth of favor which we receive from the Emperor, we 
must nourish hearts of patriotism and loyalty, must revere the 
Imperial Family, must respect the law, must cherish the national 
flag, and must understand the reason for the (observation of 
the) festival days." 4 

The extent to which these festival days are associated 



1. Futsu Gakko Kokugo Tokuhon (|^M^?;£|IiiuJfB$> "Japanese Reader 
for Ordinary Schools," Pub. by the Government of Korea, 1913), pp. 26-29. 

2. Ibid., p. 29. 

3. Jinjo Shogaku Shushin Sho, No. Ill, p. 52. 

4. Jinjo Shogaku Shushin Sho, No. IV, p. 66. 



234 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

with ceremonies conducted at the Grand Shrine of Ama-terasu- 
d-mi-kami and elsewhere may be seen in the official explanation 
as given in the text-book just quoted. The statement says, 
" The fete days of our country are : New Year's Season 
(Shinnen), the Anniversary of the Accession of the Emperor 
Jimmu (Kigen Setsu), the Emperor's Birthday {Tencho Setsu), 
and the Imperial Birthday Celebration Day {Tencho Setsu 
Shikujitsu). The New Year is celebrated on January I, 2 
and 5, the Anniversary of the Accession of the Emperor Jimmu 
on February 1 1 , the Emperor's Birthday on August 3 1 and 
the Imperial Birthday Celebration Day' on October 31. All 
are auspicious days. 

" The great festival days are : the Festival of Sacrifice to 
the Origin (Gens hi Sal), the Festival of the Vernal Equinox 
(Shunki Korei Sai, lit. " Spring-season-Imperial-Spirit-Festi- 
val "), the Anniversary of (the death of) the Emperor Jimmu 
(Jimmu Tenno Sai), the Anniversary of (the death of) the 
Emperor Meiji (Meiji Tenno Sai), the Festival of the Autumnal 
Equinox (S/iuki Korei Sai, lit. " Autumn-season-Imperial- 
Spirit-Festival "), the Festival of Presentation of First Fruits 
(Kanname Sai) and the Harvest Festival (Niuiame Sai). 

" The Festival of Sacrifice to the Origin is on January 3 
and (at this time) services are held at the Imperial Court in the 
Kashiko-dokoro} in the Koreiden* and in the Shinden? The 
Anniversary of (the death of) the Emperor Jimmu is on April 
3, while the Anniversary of (the death of) the Emperor Meiji is 
on July 30. The Festival of Presentation of First Fruits is 
celebrated on October 1 7. On this day the first ears of rice 
are offered at the Ise Shrine. The Harvest Festival is cele- 
brated on November 23. On this day the first ears of rice 

1. The shrine in the Imperial Palace where the sacred mirror is kept and 
where Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami is worshipped. 

2. The shrine in the Imperial Palace where the spirits of past Emperors, 
Empresses and Princes are worshipped. 

3. The shrine in the Imperial Palace where the Deities of Heaven and 
Enrth are worshipped. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 235 



'acL'n 



(of the late crop) are offered to the gods at the Shink 
Also at the vernal equinox and at the autumnal equinox the 
spirits of successive generations of Imperial Ancestors are 
worshipped. These two festivals are the Shunki Korei Sal and 
the Shuki Korei Sai. 

" The fete days a^d the festival days are important occa- 
sions. In the Imperial Court the Emperor, himself, officiates 
in solemn ceremonies. We must thoroughly comprehend the 
reason for these days and (thus) nourish the spirit of loyalty 
and patriotism." 2 

In summation of the evidence as given thus far in the 
present chapter it may be noted that the Japanese government 
in carrying out a nationalistic program for fostering the senti- 
ments of loyalty and patriotism in the puolic schools of the 
empire gives central importance to the following teachings, 
that Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami is the distant ancestor of the reign- 
ing Emperor ; that in a remote period of Japanese history she 
appeared in human society as a person of unusually lofty char- 
acter who conferred great blessings on the people ; that the begin- 
ning of the Japanese state, founded eternally on the principle 
of imperial sovereignty, is to be carried back to her express 
command ; that her shrine at Ise should be an object of special 
reverence ; that pilgrimage to the Ise shrine should be en- 
couraged ; that reverence for the shrine should include the 
elements of worship and prayer, especially prayer for the 
prosperity of the Imperial Family ; that this worship should find 
its great example in that which is offered to the Sun-Goddess 
by the Royal Court, itself; that the spirit of loyalty and 
patriotism should be nourished by the observation of the festival 
days of Shinto; and, finally, that in the form of its national life 
Japan is the greatest country in the world. 

1. The sanctuary in the Imperial Palace where the Niiname Sai is carried 
out. A plan showing the location of these shrines will be found in Jinjo Shogaku 
Shushin Sho, Kyoski Yd, No. Ill, p. 60. 

2. Jinjo Shogaku Shushin Sho, No. IV, pp. 55-58. 



236 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

We have before us the evidence of officially inspired 
Shinto propaganda in the public schools of Japan. In its 
scope it is as extensive as the school system of the entire 
empire. In its content it makes use of the elements of the 
ceremonials of the shrines and of prayer to the " spirits of 
ancestors " regarded as supernatural beings. The officially 
acknowledged motive in all this is the inculcation of such 
sentiments in the minds of the young as will effect the stabili- 
zation of the status quo in Japanese political life. In this 
process of strengthening the existing order, the material of the 
old Shinto mythology, especially that part relating to Ama- 
terasu-o-mi-kami, is utilized in such a way as to give support 
to the affirmation that the present organization of the Japanese 
state is the manifestation of a fundamental and unchanging 
historical principle. In other words, the official position may 
be taken to mean that historical investigation of the Japanese 
state cannot be carried back beyond a time when this funda- 
mental principle was not in operation. Not only so, but an 
attempt is made to support this program of establishing an 
historical absolute, by building on the foundation of the strongest 
religious beliefs to which the Japanese children are officially 
introduced. The greatest power in the spiritual world which 
the government text-books on ethics open before the minds of 
the Japanese children is Ama-terasu~o-mi~kami, " the August 
Ancestor of the Emperor." The foundations of the existing 
order in the state were laid by no other agency than that of 
this central spiritual power. The Japanese government is very 
plainly seeking to surround a doctrine of political absolutism 
with the final sanctions of religious belief. It hardly needs to 
be pointed out that a form of instruction which thus identifies 
certain of the most vital interests of the modern bureaucratic 
state with an ancient Shinto mythology, reveals more concern- 
ing the methods and motives of contemporary official peda- 
gogy in Japan than it does regarding the verifiable historical 
basis of the teaching itself. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 237 

Private interpretations which reecho or amplify the official 
statements just examined are numerous. Okuma's " National 
Reader " {Kokumin Tokuhon), which, though not a publication 
of the Department of Education of the government, itself, is 
nevertheless intended as an instrument of public instruction, 
says : " The various countries of the world have repeatedly 
passed through revolutions wherein the royal dynasties have 
been changed. The Empire of Great Japan alone is an excep- 
tion. The national foundation established by the Heavenly 
Ancestors is strong for ages and the Sovereign continues the 
line of the Sun-Goddess. The nation preserves the system of 
the Divine Ages. The relations of ruler and subject were 
established by nature and have never changed." 1 

The extent to which the official interpretation here ex- 
tends a directive influence over the public utterances of individ- 
uals may be inferred from the caution with which a scholar of 
the rank of Dr. N. Hozumi handles the subject even when not 
writing primarily for Japanese readers. In discussing Japanese 
ancestralism in the three-fold form of the worship of Imperial 
Ancestors, of clan ancestors and of family ancestors, Dr. Hozumi 
says, " The first of the three kinds of Ancestor-worship, namely, 
homage to the Imperial Ancestor, Ama-terasu O-Mikami, or 
' The Great Goddess of the Celestial Light,' may be styled 
the national worship." 2 In the preface to the third and revised 
edition of Ancestor Worship and Japanese Law from which this 
quotation is taken, Dr. Hozumi calls attention to the fact that 
he has been criticized for the above statement, making Ama~ 
terasu-o-mi-kami the "First Imperial Ancestor." He does 
not hazard any attempt to meet this specific criticism but 
turns his defence into an effort toward the vindication of 
ancestor- worship in general. 3 No revision is made of the text 

1. Okuma, S., Kokumin Tokuhon, p. 3. 

2. Hozumi, N., Ancestor- W01 ship and Japanese Law (Tokyo, 1913^ 

P- 34- 

3. Cf. ibid., Preface, pp. VI-XIV. 



238 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

relating to the position of the Sun-Goddess in the royal 
genealogy. 

One of the latest books of Dr. S. Uesugi is especially 
noteworthy for the manner in which it attempts to support a 
theory of Imperial Absolutism by a similar use oi the materials 
of the mythology centering in Ama-terasu-5-mi-kami. Regard- 
ing the matter under discussion this author says : — 

" Our national organization consists in Imperial Absolu- 
tism. The Empire of Japan is ruled over by an Emperor of a 
line unbroken from ages eternal. Our national organization is 
pure, absolute monarchy. The Divine Ancestor, Ama-terasu- 
o-mi-kami, sent her Imperial Grandson, Ninigi-no-mikoto, down 
into this country, and her descendants have acceded in succes- 
sion to the Imperial Throne, as eternal as Heaven and Earth. 
She established the rule of the mighty Emperors over Ashi- 
hara-no-chii-ho-aki-no-midzu-ho-no-kuni, and herein was deter- 
mined their authority over the Empire. The Eight Great 
Islands were made the territory of Japan, ruler and subject 
were united in one body and thus the Empire of Great Japan 
was built up. The absolute authority of the Emperor con- 
stitutes the basis of our national system. It is the foundation 
on which the nation stands. If there were no Emperor there 
would be no nation. Without him there would be no subjects 
and our territory would cease to exist. 

"The Emperor continues the Imperial Succession of Heaven 
and rules over the four seas as the incarnation of the spirit of 
the Divine Ancestor. In him the Divine Ancestor, as though 
now living, reigns over the Eight Great Islands. The Emperor 
is Heavenly Deity (Amatsu Kami). He is God of Light 
(Hi no Kami) ; he is Manifest God (Ara-hito-gami). His 
heart is the heart of the Divine Ancestor and he continues 
her work. He is the Mighty Ruler of Great Japan. All 
things subsist altogether in the Emperor. Authority is vested 
iti a single person. It is not to be tolerated that the Emperor 
should be divided from his authority or that any one should 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 239 

place a limit thereunto. His authority is unique. He is the 
absolute ruler determined by the Divine Ancestor." 1 

A recent publication of the Shinto College in Tokyo 
{Koku Gakuin Dai Gakii) furnishes some indication of the im- 
portant position which doctrines relating to Ama-terasu-d-mi- 
kami occupy in the instruction imparted to candidates for the 
modern Shinto priesthood. This book which was issued from 
the press in April, 192 1, bears the title, Kokutai Kowa (" Lee. 
tares on the National Constitution ") and is devoted to an 
exposition of the nature of Japanese, national life as centered in 
Imperial Absolutism. It especially emphasizes the greatness, 
uniqueness and superiority of the Japanese state organization 
over against all the other governments of the world. At the 
center of the argument lies the following statement : — 

" National constitution {kokutai) is the essential nature of 
the state. All variation in essential nature signifies variation 
in the value of the thing itself. It may be said, therefore, that 
variation in the national constitution means differences in the 
value of the state. The number of countries on earth is, of 
course, great, and among them so-called monarchies are by 
no means limited to a few, yet is it possible to find among them 
any in which the existing oiganization of the state is genuinely 
monarchical ? In our opinion none can be found apart from 
our Empire. Whether regarded from the standpoint of the 
principle of the establishment of the state or from that of its 
expiession in history, the one country possessing a true monar- 
chical organization, which has reality as well as name, is, in 
truth, our Empire of Great Japan. Indeed, there is none apart 
from our country. Our national constitution — unique, peerless, 
matchless in all the world — in truth possesses a value that is 
beyond comparison. What shall we say then regarding this 
national constitution ? 

" It goes without saying that the reason why our national 
constitution, in comparison with those of other countries of the 
1. Uesugi, S., Kokutai Seikwa no Hatsuyo, pp 9-10. 



240 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

world, is special and unique and^ further,. preeminent above all 
other countries in a commanding way, is because the rights 
of sovereignty in the state are wholly vested in the Emperor. 
Not only is the Emperor absolute and complete sovereign, but 
also the Imperial Throne, from the very foundation of the state, 
has been occupied throughout successive generations by the 
offspring of the Heavenly Ancestor \Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami\. 
The Imperial Throne, which is the substance of sovereignty, 
descends in a single line as unchanging and everlasting as 
heaven and earth. The majesty of the Imperial Throne and 
the Imperial descent in a single line, in other words, the fact 
that the relations of the Imperial House and the state have been 
consistent from the beginning — this is the fundamental system 
on which our state is established, and compared with the facts 
of world history and judged in the light of the actual conditions 
in the world to-day, it is, most emphatically, without peer on 
earth. 

" ' The Empire of Japan shall be reigned over and govern" 
ed by a line of Emperors unbroken for ages eternal.' In 1889, 
on the Anniversary of the Accession of the Emperor Jimmu, 
the late Emperor Meiji announced^ these words to the spirits of 
the Imperial Ancestors above, and to us, the subjects of the 
empire, below. This is the express determination of the First 
Article of the Imperial Constitution of Japan. The article is 
authoritative and as clear as the light of sun and stars. We 
may compare it with the words which, long ago in the Divine 
Age, the Heavenly Ancestor, Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami, spoke to 
the Heavenly Grandson, when in establishing in the beginning 
the principle of sovereignty in the state, she personally confer- 
red on him the Three Sacred Treasures and sent him down 
and appointed him as the sovereign who should rule over this 
country. In promulgating the Sacred Rescript of the founding 
of the state she instructed the Heavenly Grandson thus : ' This 
Reed-plain-Fifteen-thousand-Autumn-Fresh-Rice-ear-Land is the 
region over which my descendants shall reign. Do thou, 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 24 I 

Imperial Offspring, go and rule over it. Go ! and the prosperity 
of the Imperial Succession of Heaven shall be as everlasting as 
Heaven and Earth.' If we compare this great and sacred Im- 
pend Rescript of the foundation of the state with the First 
Article of the Imperial Constitution we can see that although they 
differ in matters of form of composition and choice of words yet 
in meaning and content they agree.." 1 

Similar effusions are abundant in contemporary Japanese 
literature. With all their tendency toward extravagance and 
bombast, they present little that is not logically involved 
in the position occupied by the government itself. Common to 
official progapanda and to private exposition alike are the funda- 
mental tenets that Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami is the first ancestor of 
the Imperial Line, that she is the greatest benevolent force of 
Japanese society .and the founder of the principle of Imperial 
absolutism in the state, and finally that the value of the Japan- 
ese state life transcends that of all other political organizations 
of the world. 

That Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami is ■ the Sun-Goddess of the 
ancient Shinto pantheon is so apparent and so widely accepted 
as to make unnecessary any extended attempt to justify such an 
interpretation here. The meaning of her ordinary title, as just 
given, is simply " Heaven-Shining-Great- August-Deity." Cer- 
tain of her variant titles identify her with the sun even more 
directly. Among such names are, O-hiru-me-no-mucJii (" Great- 
Mid-day-Female-Possessor ") and Ama-ierasu-o-hiru-me-no-mi- 
koto (" Her -Augustness- Heaven -Shining- Great -Mid-day-Fe- 
male "). 2 The Nihongi states in so many words that she is a Sun- 
Goddess. In the course of its account of the creative activity 
of the Sky-Father and the Earth-Mother this record says, 
" Hereupon they together produced the Sun-Goddess, Hi-no- 



1. Kokutai Koiva (US jj[tf£fj'i, "Lectures on the National Constitution," 
Tokyo, 1921), pp. 13 ff. 

2. Cf. A., I, p. 1 8. 



242 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

kami [called in one writing Ama-terasu-no-d-kamf\' n In the 
Kojiki account, as already pointed out, she is born from the 
left eye of the Sky-Father, while the Moon-God, Tsuki-yomi- 
no-kami, is produced immediately afterwards from his right 
eye. 2 In Polynesian mythology, again, the sister of Ra, the 
solar deity, is Marama, the moon. 3 After her creation, Ama- 
terasu-o-mi-kami is sent up into the sky and charged with the 
ruling of the " Plain of High Heaven " while the Moon-God is 
given authority over the dominion of Night. 4 The most strik- 
ing episode in all the mythology connected with her is to be 
interpreted either as an eclipse myth or as the result of experi- 
ences with the obscuration of the sun by storm clouds. When 
she retires to the Rock Cave of Heaven, great darkness prevails 
in heaven and earth ; when she again shows her face, both the 
Land of Reed-plains and the Plain of High Heaven again 
become light. 5 Her shintai [representation or dwelling-place 
in the shrine] is a mirror, that is a sun symbol. 6 One of the 
Nihongi variants says that she was produced by Izanagl from 
a white-copper mirror. 7 In certain of the modern Shinto sects 
the sun, under the same of Ama-ierasu-o-mi-kami, is worshipped 
as a personalized kami. 9 This popular faith must be regarded 
as expressing the beliefs of genuine Shinto. 

There are Shintoists in modern Japan who admit all this 
but who, at the same time, call attention to the well established 
principle that mythology necessarily takes form under the in- 
fluence of the social and political institutions of the environ- 
ment in which it develops. The political functions assigned to 
Ama-iemsu-o-mi-kami in the ancient records of Shinto are thus 

i. ft&^ZiBmi-m^xv&jim- cf.^., P . 9 . 

2. C/.C,p.43- 

3. Tregear, Maori- Polynesian Compai'ative Dictionary, p. 383. 

4. Cf. C, op. cit. 

5. Ibid., pp. 54-59. 

6. Cf. Satow, E., « The Shint.au Temples of Ise," T.A S J., Vol. II, p. 117. 

7. Cf A, I t p- 20. 

8. Fujita, K., Shinto Kaku Kyoha no Hyori, pp. 140- 143. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 243 

taken as evidence for the early manifestation of certain persis- 
tent facts both of Japanese state organization and of Japanese 
racial psychology. 

Dr. Y. Haga well exemplifies this method of interpreta- 
tion when he says, " The mythology of our country differs from 
that of other countries in that it has its center in the Imperial 
House. Again it is a mythology that makes our national 
domain central. At the time of the separation of Heaven 
and Earth the two kami, Izanagi and Izanami, descended 
upon the island of Onogoro and first gave birth to the 
Eight Great Islands, that is they gave birth to our national 
territory. Then they produced the deities of water, trees and 
fire. After giving birth to the deity of fire, Izanami went 
away. Izanagi, in order to meet with her, went after her to 
the Land of Darkness. Afterwards, when he was washing 
away his defilement, there were produced from his eyes and 
nose the three deities, Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami, Tsuki-yomi-no- 
kami and Susa-no-wo-no-mikoto. This Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami is 
called the Ancestor of our Imperial Family. In other words 
the Japanese territory and Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami are both the 
children of Izanagi. That is to say, they are bro';her and 
sister. The fact of an inseparable connection between the 
national domain and the Imperial Family may be understood 
from this. 

" Then it was established that Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami should 
rule the Plain of High Heaven, that Tsuki-yomi-no-mikoto should 
rule over the night and that Susa-no-wo-no-mikoto should rule 
the sea. Later Hiko-hoho-ninigi-no-mikoto came down from 
heaven upon this land and ruled over it. Since this land was 
born in the beginning as the brother of Ama-terasu-d-mi-kami, 
there was no reason why any one could object to this. 

" Afterwards Susa-no-wo-no-mikoto went to Idzumo. As 
his descendant, in the fifth generation, appeared O-kuni-nushi- 
no-mikoto. The latter, recognizing (the lordship of) the Heaven- 
ly Grandson, quietly submitted and handed over his country to 



244 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

him Thus it is that the essential, formative 

element in our ancient mythology is the idea that our national 
domain should be ruled over by the Heavenly Grandson as 
well as the idea that our national domain should be ruled over 
by no others than those of the lineage of the Heavenly Grand- 
son. The spirit of O-kuni-nushi-no-mikoto who, upon hearing 
that Ninigi-no-mikoto was the Heavenly Grandson, quietly 
surrendered up trie land to him, appears likewise as the spirit 
of our people in the Reform of Taika (645 A.D.) and in the 
Restoration of Meiji (1868 A.D.)." 1 

Prof. S. Honaga and Dr. T. Inouye make similar use of 
the mythology. The latter writer speaks of the command of 
Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami to Ninigi-no-mikoto that he should " go 
and rule over " the territory that later became part of the 
Empire of Japan, as a great prophecy} Prof. Honaga is of the 
opinion that the great " edict " of the Sun-Goddess cannot be 
taken merely as a bit of mythology, " since there is handed on 
to us in this edict, in an authoritative way, the tendency and 
meaning of the foundation of the state. What Ama-terasu-o- 
mi-kami therein purposed was actually brought to pass. In 
the sequel, the Japanese national spirit has nourished itself 
upon this edict." 3 

The form of interpretation just examined frankly re- 
cognizes that Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami is a Sun-Goddess. At the 
same time it attempts to deduce important conclusions from the 
political position which she is alleged to have occupied in the 
oldest Japanese mythology. 

Dr. Haga in making his argument concerning the unique- 
ness of Japanese mythology, wherein he seeks to prove an 
inseparable connection between the national domain and 
the royal family from the relationship of the Sun-God- 

1. Haga, Y., Kokumin Set Juron, pp. 15-17. 

2. Inouye, T., Kokumin Dotoku Gairon, pp. 85-86. 

3. Honaga, S., Ama-Terastt-Oho-Mi-Kami, Der Ursprung Hirer Verehrung 
ah Goettliche Urahnin von Japan ^Bristol, 191 6), pp. 6-7. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 245 

Goddess and the Japanese islands, is apparently ignorant of the 
fact that a similar argument can be built up for practically 
every people among whom we can locate the myth of the Sky- 
Father and the Earth-Mother. We can imagine a New 
Zealand chief, for example, formulating essentially similar con- 
clusions on the basis of the myth of the creative activity of 
Rangl, the father of many of the islands of Polynesia and the 
ancestor of gods and men. 1 

Furthermore, contrary to the view of the above writers, it 
may be said with a considerable degree of confidence that the 
oldest mythology revealed in the literary records does not 
center in the Sun-Goddess. As shown in the preceding 
chapter, the center of the oldest Japanese mythology lies in 
the activities of the Sky-Father and the Earth-Mother. Earlier 
deities, it is true, are mentioned in the Kojiki and the Nihongi, 
yet the mythology which surrounds them is meagre and with- 
out movement, and the genealogical sequence as it appears in 
these two sources is probably a comparatively late expression 
of speculative interest, if not, indeed, of a political motive which 
aims at deliberate suppression of these two older deities. It is 
to be remembered that the Kogoshui opens with the account 
of the activities of Izanagl and Izanami. These two are to be 
taken as the most primitive Japanese deities that can be 
identified. 

The important fact for us to observe here is that the earli- 
est mythology clearly subordinates the Sun-Goddess to the 
Sky-Father. Older than the great command of Ama-terasu- 
o-mi-kami to Ninigi-110-mikoto, which is supposed to have led to 
the founding of the Japanese state, is the command of Izanagi 
to Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami wherein he says, " Do Thine August- 
ness rule the Plain-of-High-Heaven." 2 The primitive patri- 
archal organization of society that is here reflected in Izanagi s 
direct authority over his offspring is manifestly a very different 

1. See above, p. 196, note 4. 

2. #C.,p.43- 



246 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

thing from that which is implied in a program that con- 
templates wide-spread political unification under the standard 
of the Sun-Goddess regarded as a great tribal chieftainess. The 
evidence of the mythology shows that Japanese political 
and social life, exactly as in the cases of all other 
ancient societies, evolved out of veiy simple beginnings. 
The operation of a principle of change and development 
can be discerned even in the mythology. In other words, the 
mythology changes in form with alterations in the fundamental 
character of the social life and with the appearance of new 
interests in the political field. The great fallacy in the 
position of modern Japanese Shintoists, as a whole, is that they 
practically deny the operation of a principle of development in 
Japanese society. Consciously or unconsciously dominated by 
an interest in safe-guarding the permanence of the existing form 
of political life, they attempt to carry back to the remotest 
beginnings of organized Japanese society an idealization of the' 
present status quo. Over against -the conclusions of such a 
method, it is to be maintained that the formative element of the 
oldest Japanese mythology is not the idea that the national 
domain should be ruled over by the Heavenly Grandson and 
his descendants. The social life reflected in the most ancient 
mythology has not yet advanced to any such complicated 
situation. The earliest formative element is, on the other hand, 
simply that of a veiy ancient domestic life, under the influence 
of which is constructed a world-view in terms of the primitive 
relations of father, mother and child. This gives us exactly 
the same naive mythological scheme as is found widespread 
over the earth at corresponding stages of cultural develop- 
ment. 

Not only is it true that the oldest mythology does not 
make the activities of Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami central, but even 
in that later mythology which clearly reflects the presence of a 
centralizing political program, the Sun-Goddess is far from being 
that embodiment of political absolutism which certain extremists 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 24/ 

among modern Shintoists would make her out to be. The 
decisions relating to the subduing of the Central Land of Reed 
plains are made by a council of the Gods. 1 In the Nihongi 
the Heavenly Grandson is sent down by Taka-mi-miisubi-no- 
jnikoto? In the Kojiki he is sent down by Ama-terasu-o-mi- 
kami and Taka-mi-musubi-no-kami acting conjointly and the two 
together lay on him the command, " This Luxuriant-Reed- 
plain-Land-of-Fresh-Rice-ears is the land over which thou 
shalt rule." 3 

We are brought, then, to a place where we must consider 
certain factors relating to the probable reasons for the rise of 
the cult of the Sun-Goddess to a central position in Shinto. The 
later mythology clearly subordinates the Sky-Father to the 
Sun-Goddess. 

In accounting for this inversion of the older relationship 
we may note the operation of two factors, the one a natural 
evolution in mythology, the other, as it would appear, a move- 
ment in the field of political interests. 

In the course of the ordinary development of mythology 
that goes on concomitantly with the tendency of human social 
experience to become increasingly complicated, specialized and 
definite, it is the universal -fate of the Sky-Father and the Earth- 
Mother that they are superseded by the more particularized 
nature deities to whom they give birth. Foucart, in his study 
of sky-gods, has already pointed out three results of this ten- 
dency — " (a) The acts of the sky-god become separate perso- 
nalities and gradually dismember his personality. (b) The 
beings produced by the celestial energy — sun, moon, stars — 
tend to ... . relegate to the background the beneficent 
role of the sky. (c) On the terrestrial plane the activities of 
various spirits and of their representations (fetishistic or iconic) 
take a more and more conspicuous part in the world's strug- 

1. Cf. C, pp. 93-95, 99-101. 

2. Cf A., I, pp. 64, 67, 70. 

3. Cf.C, pp. 107, III. 



248 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

•gles." 1 Finally they " capture " at least a portion of the attri- 
butes of the original parents. 

This process has gone on in Japanese myth as elsewhere. 
As the mythology develops, Izanagi and Izanami retire into 
the remote background and the story moves on with the account 
of activities centering in the more definite forms of their offspring, 
regarded as the deities of specific phases of experience which 
was once merged as a more or less undifferentiated totality in 
the general outlines of the great parents. 

In this connection, Foucart's discussion furnishes material 
for establishing an illuminating parallelism between Japanese 
and Egyptian cultures. This author says, " The progress of the 
religious system almost always results in substituting for crea- 
tion by the sky-god the organization of the world by the sun- 
god, the moon-god, or one of the stellar gods. Sometimes in 
fact the sun-god is supreme creator. Ancient Egypt presents 
a very complete schema of this type of evolution. It tends to 
substitute Ra (the sun) for the sky-gods (such as Atum, Hor, 
Nut, Hathor, Anhur, Sebek, etc.) ; but it does not completely 
realize this evolution, and consigns to the more or less vague 
beginning the primitive activity of the sky-god." 2 The Japan- 
ese Sun-Goddess is far from being the supreme creator. In 
this field the Sky-Father consistently maintains a dominant 
position ; yet from the point of view of general type of develop- 
ment Shinto must be here classified along with early Egyptian 
religion. 

The early specialization of social experience which led to 
this differentiation and elevation of the Sun-Goddess on the 
part of the Japanese ancestors was undoubtedly connected with 
agricultural development. This is made plain in the mythology. 
After the goddess of food {Uke-mochi-no-kami) has been made 
to produce from her own dead body, oxen, horses, millet, silk- 
worms, panic, rice and beans, it is the Sun-Goddess who de- 

1. Foucart, George, " Sky and Sky-gods," H.E.R.E., Vol. XI, p. 584. 

2. Ibid., p. 585. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 249 

clares, " These are the things which the race of visible men will 
eat and live." 1 The myth then says, " So she [the Sun-God- 
dess] made the millet, the panic, the wheat, and the beans the 
seed for the dry fields, and the rice she made the seed for the 
water-fields. Therefore she appointed a village-chief of Heaven, 
and forthwith sowed for the first time the rice seed in the 
narrow fields and in the long fields of Heaven. That autumn, 
drooping ears bent down, 'eight span long, and were exceedingly 
pleasant to look on. Moreover she took the silkworms in her 
mouth and succeeded in reeling thread from them. From this 
began the art of silkworm rearing." 2 The Sun-Goddess ap- 
pears here as the organizer of agricultural industry. The 
social organization has reached the stage of well developed 
agricultural communities under village chiefs who are account- 
able to some central authority, yet even thus the chief functions 
of the Sun-Goddess are in relation to food. The same conclusion 
may be deduced from the fact that Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami appears 
in the Norito as the " Divine Producer " (of food and life). 3 
Her most intimate associate in the mythology, if not her actual 
double, is the great producing god, Taka-mi-musubi-no-kami, 
" the High-August-Producing- Wondrous-Deity." 4 The sur- 
vival of an early relation to agriculture is to be seen in the fact 
that the center of the Harvest Festivals of modern Shinto is 
still the presention of first-fruits to the Sun-Goddess. 5 The 
same relationship is further indicated in the fact that the great- 
est of the associates of Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami in the worship of 
the Ise shrines is a food goddess. 6 

This development of the cult of the Sun-Goddess under 
early agricultural influences has been accompanied by the 

1. A., I, p. 33. 

2. Ibid. 

3. Cf. T.A.S.J., Vol. VII, pp. 126-127. 

4. Ibid. 

5. See above, pp. 132-3. 

6. Cf. T.A S.J., Vol. II, pp. 99.121. 



2$0 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

operation of definite political interests. Yet the utmost caution 
must be exercised in any attempt to reconstruct out of the 
legendary records of the Kojiki and the Nihongi the details of 
the expression of this political motive. The modern Japanese 
government, in its program of utilizing the old mythology as 
material for nationalistic ethical training in the public schools,is 
far from recognizing any such limitations. As already pointed 
out a particularized account of the descent of the Heavenly 
Grandson under the command of the Sun-Goddess and the 
establishment of his rule over his destined empire is expounded 
with a degree of assurance that is well adapted to induce the 
confidence that the entire movement is completely within the 
bounds of well established historical fact. 

The conclusion that such actual historical facts as lie 
behind the narrative here are almost inextricably entangled in 
a network of mythology is confirmed by a closer investiga- 
tion of the evidence. It will be remembered that the " Japanese 
History for Middle Schools," as quoted earlier in the discussion, 
in its account of the presentation of the Reed-plain Land of 
Japan to the grandson of Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami, gives prominent 
place to the coming down of the two kami, Take-mika-dzuchi 
and Futsii-nnshi} They were sent by the Heavenly Deities to 
O-kuni-nushi-no-mikoto, the " ruler of Idzumo " with the message 
that the latter should surrender up his land to the Heavenly 
Grandson. The episode is of sufficient importance to warrant 
the introduction here of the Nihongi account verbatim. The 
story is as follows. 

" After this, Taka-mi-musubi-no-mikoto again assembled all 
the Gods that they might select some one to send to the Central 
Land of Reed-Plains. They all said : — ' It will be well to send 
Futsu-nushi-no-kami, son of Iha-tsutsu-no-ivo and Ika-tsutsu-no- 
me y the children of Iha-saku-ne-saku-no-kami. , 

" Now there were certain Gods dwelling in the Rock-cave 

I. See above, p. 187. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 25 1 

of Heaven, viz. Mika-no-haya-hi-no-kami, son of Idzn-no-wo- 
bashiri-no-kami, Hi-no-hay a-hi-no-kami, son of Mika-no-haya-hi- 
no-kami, and Take-mika-dzuchi-no-kami, son of Hi-no-hay a-hi-no- 
kami. The latter God came forward and said : — ' Is Futsu- 
nushi-no-karmi alone to be reckoned a hero ? And am I not a 
hero ? ' His words were animated by a spirit of indignation. 
He was therefore associated with Futsu-nushi-no-kami and made 
to subdue the Central Land of Reed-Plains. The two Gods 
thereupon descended and arrived at the Little Shore of Itasa, 
in the Land of Idzumo. Then they drew their ten-span swords, 
and stuck them upside down in the earth, and sitting on their 
points questioned Oho-na-mochi-no-kami [one of the numerous 
titles of 0-kuni-nushi-no-mikoto\ saying : — ' Taka-mi-musubi-no- 
mikoto wishes to send down his August Grandchild to preside 
over this country as its Lord. He has therefore sent us two 
Gods to clear out and pacify it. What is thy intention ? Wilt 
thou stand aside or no ? ' Then Oho-na-mochi-no-kami answer- 
ed and said : — ' I must ask my son before I reply to you.' At 
this time his son, Koto-shir o-?iushi-no-kami was absent on an 
excursion to Cape Miho in the Land of Idzumo, where he was 

amusing himself by angling for fish 

" He therefore took the many-handed boat of Kumano, 
and placing on board of it his messenger, Inase-hagi, he des- 
patched him, and announced to Koto-sJdro-nnsJd-no-kami the 
declaration of Taka-mi-musabi-no-kami. He also inquired what 
language he should use in answer. Now Koto-shir o-nushi-no- 
kami spoke to the messenger, and said : — ' The Heavenly 
Deity has now addressed us this inquiry. My father ought 
respectfully to withdraw, nor will I make any opposition.' So 
he made in the sea an eight-fold fence of green branches, and 
stepping on the bow of the boat, went off [died]. The mes- 
senger returned and reported the result of his mission. Then 
Oho-na-mochi-no-kami said to the two Gods, in accordance with 
the words of his son : — ' My son, on whom I rely, has already 
departed. I, too, will depart. If I were to make resistance 



252 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 

all the Gods of this Land would] certainly resist also. But as 
I now respectfully withdraw, who else will be so bold as to 
refuse submission ? ' So he took the broad spear which he had 
used as a staff when he was pacifying the land and gave it to 
the two Gods, saying : — • By means of this spear I was at last 
successful. If the Heavenly; Grandchild will use this spear to 
rule the land, he will undoubtedly subdue it to tranquillity. I 
am now about to withdraw to the concealment of the short-of-a 
hundred-eighty road- windings [road to the Under World].' 
Having said these words, he at length became concealed 
[died]. Thereupon the two Gods put to death all the rebellious 

spirits and Deities Ultimately they reported the 

result of their mission." 1 

Take-mika-dzuchl-no'kamiy who appears in the above 
account as the forerunner of the Imperial Grandson, has 
already been identified as an ancient Japanese thunder-god. 
Futsu-nuski-no-kami, like the sword of Izanagi and like Take- 
mika-dzuchi with whom he is associated, grew out of primitive 
experiences with the lightning flash. He is not altogether the 
creation of mere imagination nor is he so entirely the expression of 
social experience as to be explicable purely as a culture hero, as 
the account in the Japanese History for Middle Schools would 
seem to imply. Futsu-nushi is a kami who was actually seen to 
come down out of heaven, in shape like a sword. In the visible 
traces of his striking and smiting on earth there was vivid proof 
of his power to subdue the land. The old account remembers 
that such was his character when it says that acting in coopera- 
tion with the thunder-god he put to death " the tribes of herbs, 
trees and rocks," 2 that is, he struck them with his sword. An 
examination of the names and further activities of this deity con- 
firms the interpretation just suggested. Futsu-nushi is the Striker 
or the Smiter. He appears under various names : Thrust- 



i. A., I, pp. 67-70. 

2. Ibid., p. 69. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 253 

Strike-Deity (Sazhi-futsu-no-kami), Awful-Strike Deity (Alika- 
futsu-no-kami), August-Strike-Spirit {Futsii-no-mi-tamd) and 
Strike-Master-Deity {Futsu-niishi-no-kami)} In all of his titles 
the idea of striker persists. In one case he is the son of Rock- 
Possessing-Male (Iiva-tsiitsu-no-wo)? a kami who is naturally as- 
sociated with primitive experiences with fire-flints. In another case 
he is spoken of as a sword belonging to the thunder-god. 3 Again, 
he is so closely related with thunder that the Kofiki gives the 
names Terrible- Strike-Deity {Take-futsu-no-kami) and Abundant- 
Strike-Deity {Toyo-fntsu-no-kami)d,s alternate titles of the thunder- 
god, himself. 4 

There is a passage in the Kojiki, under the account dealing 
with the achievements of the first Emperor, which furnishes 
unique evidence in support of the lightning-god character of 
Futsu-nushi. The story relates how, when the royal progress of 
Jimmu Tenno was seriously delayed by the savage deities of 
Kumanu, there appeared a man, Takakuraji by name, bearing a 
marvelous cross sword that had been sent down from heaven. 
When the Emperor once had the sword in his possession, " the 
savage deities of the mountains of Kumanu all spontaneously fell 
cut down." 5 The name of the sword was Thrust-Strike-Deity 

1. Cf. C, p. 135, A., I, p. 115. The justification of translating futsu by 
" strike " is found in the close kinship evidently existing between futsu and butsu 
or utsu " to hit," " to strike." For example, the derivative adverbial forms futtsitri, 
buttsuri and puttsuri all have reference to a breaking or snapping sound. We 
have here the evidence of a b-f mutation in the form butsu (utsu). A common 
interpretation of futsu favors the meaning of " snap," hence " Awful-Snap-Deity " 
as the title of this particular kami. (Cf-C, p. 135, note 13). The idea of " snapper," 
however, does not seem altogether congruous to the nature of a deity to whom 
the epithets " thrust " and " awful " are applied and who is spoken of as the 
sword of the thunder-god. Futsu in the sense of " strike " is fully as permissible 
as in that of " snap " and is much more appropriate to the function of the deity 
concerned. 

2. Cf. A., I, p. 67. 
2r C.,p. 135. 

4. Ibid., p. 32. 

5. Ibid., p. 134. 



254 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

(Sazhi-fatsii-no-kami) and the manner of its being let down from 
heaven is the interesting part of the story. It was revealed to 
Takakuraji in a dream that the thunder r god would perforate the 
roof of his store house and drop the sword through the hole 
thus made. 1 The Nihongl then relates : " The next morning, 
as instructed in his dream, he opened the storehouse, and 
on looking in, there indeed was a sword which had fallen 
down (from Heaven), and was standing upside down on the 
plank floor of the storehouse." 2 We are reminded that in early 
Greek religion the lightning-god was also " the Striker " and the 
" Earth-shaker " and that in certain elevated spots, as on the 
Acropolis at Athens, were Places of Coming, open to the sky, 
upon which the lightning-god might descend, and, further, that 
in order to facilitate his coming down from heaven, a hole was 
left in the roof of the north porch of the Erechtheion. 3 

1. Ibid., p. 135. 

2. A., I, p. 115, The statement that the sword was standing upside down 
has its probable explanation in the fact that the ceremonial swords found at the 
Shinto shrines are frequently inserted in a pedestal and given this inverted position 
The ceremonial usage is probably very old. A large wooden sword, seen at the 
Namiyoke Shrine of Tokyo in the summer of 1921, had an engraved representa_ 
tion of a lightning flash, colored in bright red, running the entire length of the 
blade. What was fully as remarkable was the fact that the sword was mounted 
on a base carved in the form of a serpent's tail. The local explanation declared 
that this was the great serpent slain by Susa-no-wo, from the tail of which was 
taken the sword that has since become a part of the Imperial regalia. The object 
exhibited by the Namiyoke Shrine was at once a serpent's tail, a sword and a 
lightning flash. Both legend and art in Japan connect the serpent or dragon with 
the thunder-storm. The storm-dragon is frequently found represented at the 
shrines. The great serpent of Mimuro Hill spoken of in the Nihongi gave forth 
rolling thunder and had eyeballs that flamed with fire. Its name was Ikadzuchi, 
" Thunderbolt " (A., I, p. 347). The sword which Susa-no-wo extracted from 
he serpent's tail is called Mura-kumo-no-tsurugi, " Clustering-clouds-Sword." 
The evidence here again suggests a sword that appeared when the great serpent 
writhed in the storm clouds. Cf. T.A.S.J., Vol. XLIX, Pt. I, p. 347. 

3. Cf. Harrison, Themis, pp. 91-92. The Place of Coming in Greek 
religion may be profitably compared with an ancient ceremonial object of Shinto, 
known as the himorogi, which is connected with the coming down or the bringing 
down of the god. The himorogi is in fact a " place of coming " and is probably 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 255 

The movement of the subduing of the land in preparation 
for the coming of the August Grandson of the Sun-Goddess is 
thus in the realm of the activities of mythological nature 
deities. Idzumo was conquered by Thunder and Lightning. 

The account of the descent of the grandson of the Sun- 
Goddess is likewise clothed in the garments of a nature myth. 
The Nihongi says of this event, " So the August Grandchild 
left his Heavenly Rock-seat, and with an awful path-cleaving, 
clove his way through the eight-fold clouds of Heaven, and 
descended on the Peak of Takachiho of So in Hiuga." 1 The 
picture is that of the sun's rays — offspring of the Sun-Goddess 
— striking in a broad path between the clouds down onto a 
mountain peak. That the story is not moving merely in the 
realm of the figurative representation of imperial splendor is to 
be seen in the further statement that Ninigi-no-mikoto took as 
his wife Ko-no-hana-saku-ya-liime (" Princess-Blossoming-Brilli- 
antly-Like-the-Flowers-of-the-Trees "), 2 who is the goddess of 
Mt. Fuji. Her father is the Deity of Mountains, O-yama-tsu- 
mi-no-kami (" Great-Mountain-Body-Deity "). 3 The offspring 
of this marriage in the third generation becomes the first tradi- 
tional emperor of Japan, Jimmu Tenno. 4 

Yet the conclusion that the outlines of certain remote 
tribal movements can also be dimly perceived through this 
myth and legend is probably correct. The records appear to 

the original Shint5 altar. It evidently antedates the shrines, themselves. It con- 
sists, in general, of a sacred enclosure marked off by shimenawa within which is 
placed a small tree, usually the sakaki, mounted upright on a table. Modern 
Shintoists define hi?noiogi to mean " god-dwell-tree." The tree appears to be the im- 
portant part of the device. Hemp fibre and white paper, the latter folded and cut in a 
zig-zag form, are fastened into the top of the tree and evidently represent descend- 
ing influences. The form of the paper suggests nothing so much as a symbolic 
representation of lightning coming down into the tree. This in turn suggests the 
source from which the gohei possibly derives its pecular zig-zag shape. 

1. Ibid., p. 70. 

2. C/.C, p. 115. 

3. C/.C, pp. 27, 115. 

4. See above, p. 185. 



256 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

bear witness to an early struggle between independent tribal 
settlements located in Kyushu and Idzumo, which later amal- 
gamated to a certain extent and migrated into Yamato. Final 
unification was effected under this Yamato state, wherein the 
dominant political element was of Kyushu origin. 1 The sub- 
duing of Idzumo does not appear to have been accomplished 
through such quiet submission on the part of the original rulers 
as Dr. Haga and others would have us believe took place. 
Repeated attempts were apparently made to conquer this state 2 
and complete subjection to the offspring of the Sun-Goddess 
seems to have been secured only after various " rebellious 
spirits and deities " had been put to death. 3 In determining 
the amount of importance that is to be assigned the words of 
renunciation in favor of the Heavenly Grandson which the 
records put into the mouths of O-na-mochi and his son, Koto- 
shiro-mishiy it is to be remembered that both the Kojiki and the 
Nihongi were written in the interests of an effort to fortify 
dynastic claims in trie presence of rival political interests, 
appearing in the seventh and eighth centuries of Japanese 
history. 4 This policy of centralization and unification was 
being carried out by the descendants of the very priests who 
brought the Sun-Goddess into Yamato. 5 It is in this process 
of political amalgamation that the dogma of imperial descent 
from Ama-terasii-o-mi-kami becomes especially important. As 
just stated, the Sun-Goddess of Shint5 was brought in by the 
conquerors from the south. The doctrine plays no part in the 
original Idzumo genealogies. The great ancestor of the Idzumo 
line is O-kuni-nushi-no-mikoto? The latter line has been at- 
tached to the lineage of the Sun-Goddess through Susa-no-wo- 

1. Cf. Murdoch, Vol. I, pp. 50-51 ; C, Intro., pp. XLIV— LXIV. 

2. Cf. C, pp. 93-99. 

3. <7.A,I,p. 09- 

4. Saito, H., Geschichte Japans, p. 4; Murdoch, op, cit. pp. 57-59. 

5. Murdoch, op. cit., pp. 57, 67. 

6. Cf. T.A S J., Vol. XLI, Pt. IV, p. 583. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 25/ 

no-mikoto, but it is significant that the priests of Idzumo, them- 
selves, do not claim descent from Susa-no-wo} 

The rise of the cult of Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami X.o its dominant 
position in Shinto is thus to be explained in no small measure 
from the point of view of its intimate association with the fortunes 
of imperial sovereignty vested in the chiefs of the Kyushu- 
Yamato tribe and their royal descendants. As the great 
ancestor of this line, she]has gained ascendency pari passu with 
the centralization of power in the hands of the Emperor and the 
imperial bureaucracy and has subordinated other deities as an im- 
portant part of the extension of this centralized political control. 
Regarding the great "Edict" of the foundation of the state, 
modern Shintoists say, "What Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami therein 
purposed was actually brought to pass." The suspicion is 
strong, on the other hand, that Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami is made to 
purpose what dynastic interests were seeking to bring to pass. 

We have examined in outline the main reasons for the 
rise of sun worship to preeminence in Shinto. The natural 
development of the cult of the Sun-Goddess under the influence 
of the needs of an agricultural people has been accompanied 
by the interaction of political interests. The problem before 
us, however, is not the reconstruction of the nature of sun wor- 
ship in old Shinto. Nor need the fate of Shinto throughout 
the long medieval period concern us here. We must return to 
the modern situation. We know that in the middle of the 
nineteenth century, Buddhism and Confucianism were in control 
in the fields of religion and morals and that the Shinto shrines 
were neglected and disorganized. De facto political power was 
in the hands of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Then came the Res- 
toration of 1868, a coup d'etat carried out by men from the 
southwest. The Choshu and Satsuma clansmen, descendants 
of the original conquerors from Kyushu, broke the power of 
the Tokugawas, placed the Emperor on the throne and once 
again brought in their ancient Sun-Goddess. The method of 
1. ibid., p 537. 



258 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

unification that had served so well in the establishment of the 
state, was to be used again in a modern effort to control the think- 
ing of the people. Factions and contentions arising from within 
and disintegrating forces threatening from without were to be 
met by the stabilizing influence of a state cult centering in the 
Sun-Goddess. Certain Shintoists have gone farther and have 
actually proposed the unification of the world under the aegis of 
Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami. 

The political value of sun worship and of a doctrine of the 
solar ancestry of the ruler is thus to be found in the centraliz- 
ing principle that is necessarily involved therein. The sun is 
a source of life for growing crops and a center of strength and 
energy for man and thus a benevolent being under whose pro- 
vidence the vital needs of society are supplied. In addition, 
men, by virtue of their mutual relations to the one and only sun of 
heaven, are universally consolidated and at the same time 
subordinated. The sun thus becomes symbol of unity — unity, 
indeed, under an emblem of incomparable grandeur. Japanese 
statesmen and priests have been by no means the first to utilize, 
in political affairs, this aspect of sun worship, made to center in 
a doctrine of royal descent from the sun deity. Probably the 
best example in history is that of ancient Egypt, where already 
by the year 2750 B.C. the priests of Heliopolis were beginning 
a program of political amalgamation through a worship of the 
Sun-God, regarded as the great patron divinity of the state. This 
was accompanied by the fiction that the Sun-God was a former 
ruler of Egypt and also the great ancestor of the reigning 
Pharaoh as well as the protector and leader of the nation. 1 
These propositions are almost indentical with those advanced 
in the modern text-books on ethics and on history published by 
the Department of Education of the Japanese Government. 

• We may turn next to the consideration of Susa-no-zuo, 
" The Impetuous male" of the Shinto pantheon. Modern 

1. Cf. Breasted, J. H , Development of Religion and Thought in Ancient 
Egypt (New York, 1912 s , pp. 15 ff. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 259 

official interpretation makes this deity the brother of Ama-tcrasu- 
o-mi-kami and consequently one of the ancestors of the Imperial 
Family. He appears in the Kojiki as Take-hay a-susa-no-zi'o- 
no-mikoto, " His Brave-Swift-Impetuous-Male Augustness " 1 
and in the Nihongi with the slightly different titles, Sasa-no- 
wo-no-mikoto? Haya-susa-no-ico-no-mikoto? and Kamu-susa-no 
ivo-no-mikoto 4 [susa or sosa probably from susumi/, "to be 
impetuous "]. 

The use which the Department of Education of the Japan- 
ese Government makes of some of the mythology connected 
with Snsa-no-zi'o-no-mikoto may be seen in the following transla- 
tion from one of the school readers. The story relates the 
origin of the sacred sword which has already been enumerated 
as one of the Three Sacred Treasures that constitute the tradi- 
tional regalia received by successive generations of Emperors on 
accession to the Imperial Throne. The reader says, " The 
younger brother of Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami was called Susa-no- 
vuo-no-mikoto. He was a deity possessed of great courage. Once 
as he was passing along the bank of the river Hi in the land of 
Idzumo a chopstick came floating down the stream. There- 
upon he concluded that people lived up the river and as he 
went along the bank, gradually going farther into the depths 
of mountains, he came upon an old white haired man and his 
wife, with their daughter placed between them. They were 
weeping. 

" ' Why do you weep ? ' asked the Prince. " The old 
man made answer, " We once had eight daughters, but they 
have been captured and devoured one each year by a great 
serpent called Yamata-no-orochi (" Eight-Forked-Great-Ser- 
pent "). Now only this one child is left to us. It is now the 
exact time of the year for the coming of this great serpent and 

1. C/.C,p,43- 

2. cy.A,L P . 28. 

3. Cf. A., I, p. 19. 

4. Cf op. cit. 



260 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

we know not whether the life of this child will be taken to-day 
or to-morrow.' 

" ' What kind of a serpent is this Yamata-no-orochi? ' 

" ' It is a great serpent whose length covers eight moun- 
tains and eight valleys, it has eight heads and eight tails. Its 
eyes are red like the ground-cherry and its back is covered 
with moss.' 

" On hearing this account the Prince said, ' Enough ! I will 
destroy this great serpent. Fill eight sake-vats with strong 
sake and arrange them in a row in the place where the great 
serpent comes.' 

" They made ready in this way and waited. Presently 
the great serpent appeared and, spying the sake, he put his 
eight heads into the eight sake- vats and began to drink. While 
so doing, he became intoxicated and fell soundly asleep. Then 
the Prince drew his sword and cut the great serpent into pieces. 
The blood flowed into the Hi River so that the waters became 
a bright red. When he was cutting the tail, the blade of his. 
sword was nicked. Thinking this strange he cut open the tail 
and examined it. Whereupon, there appeared a magnificent 
sword. ' This is a precious thing,' he said and presented it to 
Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami. This is the Clustering-clouds-Sword-of- 
Heaven (Ama-no-mura-kumo-7to-tsurugi), which afterwards was. 
called the Grass-mowing-Sword (Kitsa-nagi-no-tsuritgi). It is 
one of the Three Sacred Treasures." 1 

Book I of the teacher's manual accompanying the " Japan- 
ese History for Ordinary Primary Schools " presents material 
that makes similar use of the Susa-no-wo myth in explaining 
the origin of the Three Sacred Treasures. The official exposi- 
tion here says, " The younger brother of Ama-terasii-o-mi-kami 
was Susa-no-zvo-no-mikoto. On account of the violent acts which 
he often performed in Takama-ga-hara, the Great Deity became 
enraged and hid herself within the Rock Cave of Heaven. 
Hereupon all the deities held consulation together and caused 

79. Jinjo Shogaku Tokuhon, No. VIII (Tokyo, 192 1), pp. 1-6.. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 26 1 

IsJii-kori-dome to take copper from Heavenly Mount Kagu and 
make an eight-sided mirror and caused Tama-no-oya-no-mikot o 
to make the Curved Jewels of Yasaka Gem. These they hung 
on the brc nches of a sakaki tree together with blue and white 
, soft offerings ' and presented them to the Great Deity. Then 
they made music before the Rock Cave and called her forth. 
Afterwards on the occasion of the descent of the Heavenly 
Grandson, the Great Deity conferred this sacred mirror on the 
Prince and commanded him saying, " Regard this as looking 
on me, myself." She gave him in addition the Grass-mo wing- 
Sword and the above mentioned Curved Jewels of Yasaka 
Gem. These three together are called the Three Sacred Trea- 
sures. The Grass-mo wing-Sword is the sword which Snsa-no- 
wo-110-mikoto secured when he subdued the great serpent in 
Idzumo. First it was called the Clustering-clouds-Sword 
(Miira-kumo-no-tsuritgi) and later was worn by Yamato-iake-no- 
mikoto when he went to subdue the barbarians. From the fact 
that in order to escape the danger of a fire (kindled by) the 
enemy he cut down the grass (about him), the name of the sword 
was changed to Grass-mowing-Sword {Kusa-nagl-no-tsurugi). 

" After the time of Ninigi-no-mikoto the Three Sacred 
Treasures were kept for successive generations in the Imperial 
Palace, but in the time of Sujin Tenno (Tenth Emperor), out of 
a fear lest the divine influence might be contaminated, the 
sacred mirror and the sacred sword were enshrined in a separate 
sanctuary. Newly made reproductions, together with the 
Curved Jewels of Yasaka Gem, became the regalia of the Im- 
perial Throne. After this the sacred mirror and the sacred sword 
which were handed down from the Divine Age were kept at 
the Grand Imperial Shrine of Ise, but ever since the eastern 
invasion of Yamato-take-no-mikoto the sacred sword has been 
kept at the Atsuta Shrine of the city of Nagoya of the country 
of Owari." 1 

I- Jinfi Shdgaku NiJion Rekishi, Kyoshi Yd (Tokyo, 191 2), Bk. L, pp. 5-6. 



262 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

Susa-no-wo-no-mikoto is thus officially included in the Im- 
perial genealogies as the younger brother of the greatest of the 
ancestors of the Emperor. Evidently the government expects 
this to be taken as authentic history. And yet it is difficult to 
see how public confidence cannot fail to be weakened ultimately 
by thus placing on a mythological basis the account of the 
origin of one of the most precious object of modern politico- 
religious ceremony, namely the Sacred Sword of the Imperial 
Regalia. * 

The seriousness with which the government regards the 
Susa-no-wo myth may be further seen in evidence to be found 
in one of the Japanese school readers for Korean children 
published by the Japanese Government for Korea, which 
says, " The younger brother of Ama-terasu-d-mi-kami was 
named Susa-no-wo-no-mikoto. He was a person of extraor- 
dinary strength who visited about in various places and who 
also went to the land of Idzumo. At that time there lived in 
the land of Idzumo a great serpent having eight heads who 
terrorized the people by capturing and eating human beings. 
Susa-no-zvo-no-mikoto filled eight large jars with sake and 
awaited the coming of the great serpent. Thereupon the 
monster came to the spot, drank the sake and became intoxi- 
cated. Then, while it was sleeping, Susa-no-wo-no-mikoto cut 
it down and thus ended its existence. Strange to relate, in the 
body of the serpent was found a jeweled sword. Susa-no-wo- 
mikoto took this and presented it to Ama-terasu-d-mi-kami. 

" Susa-no-wo-no-mikoto also visited Korea. 1 Furthermore, 
in Japan proper he planted a large number of trees and with 
these ships were constructed for going back and forth between 
Korea and Japan." 2 

1. Cf. A, I, p. 57. 

2. Futsu Gakko Kokugo Tokuhon (" Japanese Reader for Ordinary 
Schools," Pub. by the Japanese Government for Korea), Bk. IV, pp. 53 ff. 

The account of how Szisa-no-zvo " planted a large number of trees," as given 
in one of the Nihongi variants, reads, " Sosa no wo no Mikoto said : — ' In the 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 263 

in the practice exercises that follow the lesson, question 
number two says : " Tell the reason why Susa-no-wo-no-mikota 
planted a large number of trees." 1 

The above official exposition would appear to be legiti- 
mately open to the interpretation that the Japanese educational 
authorities for Korea are attempting to utilize an episode of 
ancient Japanese mythology in a pseudo-historical sense as a 
means of establishing a connection between Korea and Japan 
in the minds of Korean children. Likewise, the emphasis on 
the relation between Susa-no-wo-no-mikoto and Ama-terasu-o- 
mi-kami indicates the governmental intention, already pointed 
out, of including Susa-no-zvo-no-mikoto as one of the ancestors 
of the Imperial Family. 

The historicity of official Japanese statement regarding 
Susa-no-wo is to be estimated in the light of evidence going to 
show that Susa-no-wo is an ancient storm-god. Buckley has 
already presented convincing proof of the storm-god character 
of this deity. 2 Florenz has added his authority to this inter- 
pretation. 3 Aston eventually came to adopt a similar point of 
view. 4 Mr. Tsuda, one of the best informed of modern Japan- 
ese students of Shinto, 5 likewise concludes that Susa-no-zvo is a 

region of the Land of Han [Korea] there is gold and silver. It will not be well 
if the country ruled by my son should not possess floating riches [ships]. So he 
plucked out his beard and scattered it. Thereupon Cryptomerias were produced. 
Moreover, he plucked out the hairs of his breast, which became Thuyas. The 
hairs of his eye-brows became Camphor-trees. The hairs of his buttocks became 
Podocarpi. Having done so, he determined their uses. These two trees, viz. the 
Cryptomeria and the Camphor-tree, were to be made into floating riches ; the 
Thuya was to be used as timber, for building fair palaces ; the Podocarpus was to 
form receptacles in which the visible race of man was to be laid in secluded burial- 
places. For their food he well sowed and made to grow all the eighty kinds of 
fruit." (A., I, p. 58). 

1. Futsu Gakko Kokugo Tokuhon y Bk. IV, p. 56. 

2. Cf. " The Shinto Pantheon," New World, Dec , 1896, pp. 13-14. 

3. Cf F., p. 29, note 19. 

4. Cf. Shinto, pp. 136 ff. See also Aston's letter in F., pp. 319-20. 

5. Cf. Tsuda, N., Shtnto Kigen Ron (#fflg£p& %¥M.&Bm, "An Essay 
on the Origin of Shinto "), p. 61. 



264 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

storm-god. The storm-god character of Susa-no-zvo is assumed 
in the present discussion. It is necessary for us to note here 
only enough regarding this deity to make comparison with the 
Polynesian god, Tazvhiri-ma-tea> " The Father of Winds and 
Storms." 

In the Kojiki myth, as already related, Susa-no-wo sprang 
from the nostrils of Izanagi as he purified himself after his 
return from the lower world ; in one of the Nihongi accounts 
he is represented as having been born from Izanagi and Iza- 
nami by the ordinary generative process. 1 His stormy char- 
acter is indicated in the statement that he was ever weeping, 
wailing and fuming with rage. 2 His weeping is said to have 
been such that he dried up all the rivers and the seas, 3 regard- 
ing which Buckley has remarked, " an apparent contradiction 
and a standing puzzle to the Japanese commentators, but plain 
enough, when the rains flood the country and hide the bound- 
aries of rivers and lakes." 4 In support of this interpretation is 
the direct evidence of the records going to show that at least a 
portion of the functions assigned to Susa-no-wo grew out of 
experiences with he ivy rain-bearing winds. He is a god who 
destroys rice fields V in the spring time " by knocking away 
the pipes and troughs used in irrigation, by filling up channels, 
and by breaking down the division between fields. 5 All this 
is plainly based on agricultural experiences during a season of 
heavy rain. One of the Nihongi accounts clothes Susa-no-zvo 
in the characteristic rain-hat and grass rain-coat of the oriental 
farmer. 6 The story further relates that at the time of his 
banishment he went down from heaven in a violent storm of 
wind and rain. 7 The argument does not appear to be so self- 



Cf. A., I, p. 19. 

Ibid., pp. 1 9-20. 
Cf. C, p. 44- 
Buckley, op. cit. 
Cf. A., I, p. 48. 
Ibid., p. 50. 
Ibid 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 265 

evident, however, when we attempt to utilize the rain-storm 
interpretation in order to account for the plain statement of the 
Kojiki that the weeping of Susa-no-wo was such as " to wither 
the green mountains into withered mountains " and " to dry up 
all the rivers and seas." 1 Rather, the formative experience 
here would appear to have been with hot drying wind. The 
inference that ancient Japanese myth referred the devestation 
caused by both rain and drought to the ravages of Susa-no-ivo 
is suggested in the description which the Nihongi gives of a 
paddy field which this god owned — tc In the rains, the soil was 
swept away, and in droughts it was parched up." 2 Experiences 
with seasonal winds, alternating between hot parching winds 
and stormy wet winds, may well lie back of this mythology. 

The appropriateness of the term " impetuous " in the name 
of Su sa-no-wo-no-mi 'koto is to be found in the ascription to him 
of a character of such violence as to have brought many people 
of the country to an untimely end, as well as in the account of 
how he entered into a struggle with his brethern which finally 
led to his expulsion from heaven. 3 In view of a similar episode 
in Polynesian mythology it is of interest to observe that after 
this expulsion he went up to Heaven agajn with a mighty noise 
[winds rising in the sky] and visited his sister, Ama-terasu-o-mi- 
kanii. As a pledge of good faith the two created, individually, 
a progeny of lesser kami. From the pieces of the sabre of 
Susa-no-zvo were produced, Ta-kiri-hime-no-mikoto (" Her- 
Augustness-Torrent-Mist-Princess " ), Ichiki-shima-Jiime-no-mi- 
koto (" Her-Augustness-Lovely-Island-Princess "), and Tagi-tsu- 
hime-no-mikoto (" Her-Augustness-Princess-of-the-Torrent "). 4 
As will be seen below the Polynesian story presents parallel' 
details. 

The Maori god, Tawhiri-ma-tea corresponds in functions 

1. Cf. C, op. cit. 

2. A., I, p. 48. 

3. Cf. A, I, p. 19. 

4. Cf. C, pp. 47-48. 



266 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINT(5. 

and in genealogical connections with the Japanese god, Susa- 
no-wo. The Maori deity is the child of Rangi and Papa. He 
appears as an impetuous god of violence who " sends forth 
fierce squalls, whirlwinds, dense clouds, massy clouds, dark 
clouds, gloomy thick clouds, fiery clouds, clouds which precede 
hurricanes, clouds of fiery black, clouds reflecting glowing red 
light, clouds wildly drifting from all quarters and wildly bursting, 
clouds of thunder storms, and clouds hurriedly flying." 1 Like 
Susa-no-wo, he enters into a struggle with his brethern. He 
attacks Tane-mahuta and smites and breaks the forest; he 
swoops down on the ocean and lashes the waves in his wrath ; 
he attacks Rongo-ma-tane and Hanmia-tikitiki, the gods and 
progenitors of cultivated and uncultivated food. 2 With this 
may be compared the Japanese tradition that Susa-no-wo was 
once assigned by Izanagi the task of ruling the " sea-plain," 
but that, instead of doing so, he only cried and wept, 3 also 
the account of how he attacked cultivated fields by breaking 
down the divisions of rice-fields and filling up ditches, 4 and, 
finally, that he killed the Food-goddess. 5 Parallelism appears 
again in the statement of the Maori myth that through the 
wrath of Tawhiri-ma-tga a great part of the dry land was made 
to disappear and much of Mother Earth was submerged. 6 

Just as Susa-710-wo went up into Heaven and created off- 
spring in company with his sister, so also Tawhiri-ma-tea rose 
up to Heaven. The myth proceeds : " then by himself and 
the vast Heaven were begotten his numerous brood and they 
rapidly increased and grew." 7 In the Japanese account the 
Sun-Goddess takes the place of the Sky-Father, yet the paral- 



Grey, op. cit , pp. 5, 6. 

Ibid., p. 9. 

Cf. C, p. 44. 

Ibid., pp. 52-53. 

Ibid., p. 59. . 

Cf. Grey, op. cit , p. 14. 

Ib:d.,p. 5. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 267 

lelism is remarkably close. Polynesian mythology repeats this 
episode in different form in an account of how during the 
struggle between TawJiiri-ma-tea and his brethern there appear- 
ed as offspring of the former the deities, Ua-md (" Terrible- 
rain "), Ua-roa (" Long-continued-rain ") and Ua-whatu (" Hail- 
storm "). These were succeeded in turn by Han-maringi 
("Mist "), Hau-marotaroto (" Heavy-dew ") and Tomai-rangi 
(" Light-dew "). 1 It will be observed that these lesser deities, 
like the offspring of Susa-no-wo given above, appear in groups 
of three and that in the personification of mist on the Maori 
side we have a repetition of the idea of a " Torrent-Mist- 
Princess " on the Japanese side. 

Finally, like Susa-no-wo, Tawhiri-ma-tea has a high place 
in the sacred pedigrees. In the Maori genealogies (Ngati- 
Maniapoto tribe), he appears as eighth from the beginning in a 
long list that includes King Tawhiao and other noted leaders 
of the modern Maori people. 2 

In summary of these two deities, then, it may be said that 
that both are storm gods ; they enter into struggles with their 
brethern and perform like deeds of violence ; they rise up to 
heaven and create offspring in similar fashion ; parallelism 
appears in the grouping and, perhaps, in the functions assigned 
their descendants ; and, finally, both deities have important 
places in the ancestral genealogies. 

Postponing, for the time being, further conclusions we 
may turn to the investigation of more of the details of the cult 
life of official Shinto. 

1. Cf. Tregear, op. cit. y p. 449 ; Grey, op. cit., p. 14. 

2. Cf. Tregear, op. cit., p. 667. 



268 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Government and National Shrtnes. 
Conclusions. 

An estimate of the character of Shinto as a national cult 
must, from the nature of the case, be founded to a very large 
extent on a study of the existing Government Shrines (Kam- 
peisha) and the National Shrines (Kokuheisha)} The ceremonies 
conducted at these two classes of large shrines are accorded a 
position of primary importance in the politico-religious pro- 
gram of the Japanese government. The official register of 
these shrines as revised up to the date of July 16, 192 1, 
includes a total of 183, distributed as follows: Gov- 
ernment Shrines of Major Grade {Kampei Taisha), 57; 
Government Shrines of Middle Grade {Kampei Chushd), 23 ; 
Government Shrines of Minor Grade {Kampei Shosha), 4 ; 
Government Shrines of Special Grade {Bekkaku Kampeisha), 
24 ; National Shrines of Major Grade {Kokuhei Taisha), 5 ; 
National Shrines of Middle Grade {Kokuhei Chusha), 46 ; 
National Shrines of Minor Grade {Kokuhei Shosha), 2^} To 
this list must be added the Grand Imperial Shrine of Ise. 

We may take up first the investigation of the nature of the 
deities worshipped at the above shrines. These deities may 
be studied in the four groups of Emperors, princes, subjects and 
nature deities. The names of Emperors whose spirits receive 
public worship are given immediately below. The statement is 
also made to include the names, grades and locations of all 
shrines where Emperor worship can be found, together with 

1. See above, pp. 20-21. 

2. Cf. Genko Jinja Horei Ruisan, pp. 842, ff. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 269 

certain other historical facts which may be of value in deter- 
mining the status of this phase of Shinto. 

1. Jimmu Tenno (660-585 B.C.). 1 

(1). Miyazaki Shrine, Kampel Taisha, Omiya Mura, 
Miyazaki Prefecture. A shrine has stood here, apparently, 
from very ancient times, and is supposed to mark the traditional 
site of the palace of Emperor Jimmu in Hyuga. This shrine 
was made a Kokuhei CJiusha on Aug. 10, 1875, and was raised 
to the rank of Kampei Taisha on April 22, 1885. 2 

(2). Kashiwara Shrine, Kampei Taisha, Shirakashi Mura, 
Nara Prefecture. This shrine was founded on March 20, 1 890. 
It supposedly marks the locality of the accession of the first 
Emperor to the Imperial Throne. The legendary consort of 
Jimmu Tenno, Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime-Kogd, is also enshrined 
here as the first traditional Empress. 

2. Chuai Tenno (192-200 A.D.). 

(1). Kehi Shrine, Kampei Taisha, Tsuruga Machi, 
Fukui Prefecture. The origin of the worship of Emperor 
Chuai at this shrine appears to be related to the statement of 
the Nihongi that he built the " Palace of Kehi " at Tsuruga and 
dwelt there. Tradition says that he worshipped the kami at 
this place. 

(2). Kashii Shrine, Kampei Taisha, Kashii Mura, Fuku- 
oka Prefecture. The date of the establishment of this shrine 
is uncertain. Tradition dates it from the first year of Shinki 
(724 A.D.). The shrine was raised to the above rank in 1885. 

(3). Yunomiya Shrine [Hachiman], Kokuhei Shosha, 



1. The dates of all rulers here listed are given according to the official 
chronology. 

2. For verification of the statements made here and in what follows the 
reader should consult the Dai Nihon Shimmei Jisho under the titles of the various 
deities as given and also the appendix of the same work under the titles of shrines 
and* deities. See also Meiji Jin) 1 Shiryo (3 Vols., Tokyo, 191 2); K. Sugimori, 
Jingu Rankoku Heisha Shingi Yoroku (Tokyo, 19 19, 4th. ed.) ; J. Saito, Isejingu 
Kankoku Heisha Saishiu Gokeizu Kaisetm (Tokyo, 1918, 3d. ed.) ; and Genko 
Jinja Horei Ruisan, op. cit. 



27O THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

Chofu Mura, Yamaguchi Prefecture ; raised from a Kensha to 
the above rank in 19 16. 

(4). Yuhara (Yusuhara) Hachiman Shrine, Kokuhei Sho- 
sha, Hachiman Mura, Oita Prefecture ; raised from a Kensha 
to the above rank in 19 16. 

Chuai Tenno's actual connections with the origin of the 
worship of Hachiman, the god of war, are, as a matter of fact, 
very remote. They rest largely on the tradition that he was 
the husband of the Japanese Amazon, Jingo Kog5, and by her, 
the father of Ojin Tenno who, through some curious shift of 
history, has become identified with the god of war. 

3. Ojin Tenno {Honda-zvake-no-mikoto, 270310 A. D.). 

( 1 ). Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine, Kampei Taisha, Hachi- 
man Machi, Kyoto Prefecture. This shrine was founded in 
860 A.D. and was formerly known as the Otokoyama 
Hachiman. 

(2) Usa Shrine [Hachiman], Kampei Taisha, Usa Machi, 
Oita Prefecture. This shrine was founded, according to tradi- 
tion, in 570 A.D. It marks the original seat of the worship of 
Hachiman, the god of war. 

(3). Kehi Shrine, Kampei Taisha, Tsuruga Machi, Fukui 
Prefecture. See under Chuai Tenno. 

(4). Hakozaki Shrine, Kampei Taisha, Hakozaki Machi, 
Fukuoka Prefecture. The shrine has existed from ancient 
times. It was raised from the rank of KensJia to that of Kam- 
pei Chusha in 1885 and made a Kampei Taisha in 191 4. 

(5) Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine, Kokuhei Chusha, 
Kamakura Machi, Kanagawa Prefecture. The shrine was 
founded in 1063 by Minamoto Yoriyoshi and raised from the 
rank of Kensha to that of Kokuhei Chusha in 1882. 

(6). Fujisaki Hachiman Shrine, Kokuhei Shosha, Kuma- 
moto, Kumamoto Prefecture ; raised from the rank of Kensha 
in 1916. 

(7). Hakodate Hachiman Shrine, Kokuhei Chusha, Hako- 
date, Hokkaido. The date of founding is uncertain. The 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINT<5, 27 1 

shrine was made a Kokuhei Shosha in 1877 and raised to the 
rank of Kokuhei Chusha in 1 896. 

(8). Yunomiya Shrine [Hachiman]. See (3) under Chuai 
Tenno. 

(9). Yuhara Hachiman Shrine. See (4) under Chuai 
Tenno. 

The Empress Jingo (201-269 A.D.), the traditional mother 
of Ojin Tenno, is enshrined at the following places given in the 
above lists: (1) Iwashimidzu Hachiman Shrine, (2) Usa 
Shrine, (3) Kashii Shrine, (4) Kehi Shrine, (5) Yunomiya 
Shrine, (6) Yuhara Hachiman Shrine. 

In the above Hachiman shrines, dedicated to the worship 
of Chuai Tenno, Ojin Tenno and Jingo Kogo, these deities 
all appear in the role of patron divinities of war. The 
multiplication of the number of Hachiman shrines of high 
rank by the elevation of certain ones of lower grade must 
be taken as an indication of a conspicuous military interest on 
the part of the modern Japanese government. The origin of 
the worship of Hachiman, however, is obscure and is not to be 
connected with Emperor worship as such. The cult of the 
war god becomes prominent in Shinto early in the eighth 
century of the Christian era. Ojin Tenno's principal claim 
to worship in the cult of Hachiman appears to lie in the 
story that during her military expedition against Korea his 
mother, being pregnant, bore him with her all through the 
campaign. 

4. Junnin Tenno (758-764 A.D.). 

(1). Shiramine Shrine, Kampei Chusha, Kyoto, Kyoto 
Prefecture. In estimating the nature of the deification 
of Emperor Junnin at this shrine it is necessary to take 
brief notice of the following historical episode. In the 
course of the struggles for the Imperial Throne that mark 
the middle of the eighth century Junnin Tenno was de- 
posed after a reign of six years and banished to the is- 
land of Awaji, where he was put to death by strangula- 



272 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

tion. 1 In 1873 his spirit was brought to Kyoto and enshrined 
at Shiramine. 2 

5. Kwammu Tenno (782-805 A.D.). 

' (1). Heian Shrine, Kampei Taisha, Kyoto, Kyoto Pre- 
fecture, This shrine was founded on June 29, 1894. 3 Kwam- 
mu Tenno's rights to enduring fame are unquestioned. He is 
to be reckoned among the truly great rulers of human history, 
yet it must be taken as highly significant that this shrine was 
not established until late in the modern period. 

6. Sutoku Tenno (11 23-1 141 A.D.). 

(1). Shiramine Shrine. See under Junnin Tenno. In 
the succession quarrels of the twelfth century the Emperor 
Sutoku was banished to Sanuki where he died. 4 In 1868 his 
spirit was brought to Kyoto and enshrined at Shiramine, 5 later 
to be joined by the spirit of Emperor Junnin. 

(2). Kotohira Shrine, Kokuhei Chuska, Kotohira Machi, 
Kagawa Prefecture ; raised from Kokuhei S/wsha to the above 
rank in 1885. Sutoku Tenno is here enshrined in the country 
of his banishment and death, along with O-mono-nushi-no-mikoto. 

7. Antoku Tenno (1 180-1 182 A.D.). 

(1). Akama Shrine, Kampei Cliusha, Shimonoseki, Yama- 
guchi Prefecture. Antoku Tenno is the child Emperor who was 
drowned in the Battle of Dan-no-Ura. In the year 1 191 A.D., 
Buddhist piety built a sanctuary by the straits of Shimonoseki, 
for the repose of his spirit. It was not until after the Restora- 
tion, however, that Shinto manifested any special interest in 
the matter. Then the ancient Buddhist institution was abolish- 
ed and on October 7, 1875, the Akama Jinja was established. 6 

8. Go-Toba Tenno (1 183-1 198 A.D.). 

9. Tsuchimikado Tenno ( 1 198-12 10 A.D.). 

1. Cf. Murdoch, J., A History of Japan, Vol. I, p. 187. 

2. Cf. Genko Jinja Horei Ruisan, p. 342 (3) ; Sugimori, op. cit., Pt. II, p. 63. 

3. Cf. Genko Jinja Horei Ruisan, p. 342 (2). 

4. Cf. Sugimori, op. cit. ; Murdoch, op. cit , p. 299. 

5. Cf. Sugimori, op. cit 

6. Cf. Sugimori, op. cit., Pt. II, p. 64; Genko Jinja Horei Ruisan, p. 343 (3). 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINT3. 2/3 

10. Juntoku Tenno (1211-1221 A.D.). 

(1). These three Emperors are worshipped together at 
the Shrine of Minase, Kampei CJiTtsha, Shimamoto Mura, Osaka 
Prefecture. In the struggle between the Kamakura Shogunate 
and the Imperial House, the first of these Emperors was 
banished to the Island of Oki, the second . was banished first to 
Tosa and later to Awa, and the third was removed to Sado. 1 
The spirits of the first two were enshrined at the Minase Miya 
in 1873 ; Juntoku Tenno was deified here the following year. 2 

11. Go-Daigo Tenno (13 18-1333 A.D.). 

(1). Yoshino Shrine, Kampei Taisha, Yoshino Mura, 
Nara. In 1330 the Hojo banished the Emperor Go-Daigo to 
the island of Oki, from whence he later escaped and succeeded 
in effecting a temporary restoration of Imperial power. Later, 
however, on the eve of the Great Succession Wars he was 
obliged to flee to Yoshino where he established the Southern 
Court. 3 Here he died. A government shrine for the worship 
of Go-Daigo Tenno was established at Yoshino on June 6, 
1889, with the rank of Kampei Chusha? In 1 90 1 it was 
elevated to the rank of Kampei Taisha. 

12. Meiji Tenno (1 867-191 2 A.D.). 

(1). Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu), Kampei Taisha, Yoyogi, 
Tokyo ; established May 1 , 1 9 1 5 . Empress also enshrined. 

(2). Ch5sen Shrine, Kampei Taisha , Seoul, Korea ; 
founded July 18, 1 9 19. Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami is also enshrined 
here. 

We may summarize the results of our study thus far as 
follows. Twelve different Emperors and three Empresses are 
worshipped in twenty different shrines. The numbers are 
surprisingly small when we remember that the total figure for 
Government and National Shrines of all grades is 183, and that 

1. Cf Sugimori, op. cit., p. 64; Murdoch, op. cit., p. 448. 

2. Cf. Sugimori, op. cit., Pt. I, p. 34. 

3. Cf. Murdoch, op. cit., pp. 540-561. 

4. Cf. Genko Jinja Horei Ruisan, p. 342 (2). 



2^4 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

the official genealogy gives the names of 122 sovereigns from 
Jirnmu Tenno to the reigning Emperor. Furthermore, no other 
shrines of any grade, high or low, have been located where 
any Emperors other than those listed above receive public 
worship. It is true that in the Koreiden (Imperial-Spirits- 
Shrine) of the Imperial Palace the spirits of all the successive 
generations of Emperors from Jimmu Tenno to Meiji Tenno 
are enshrined, but this must be regarded merely as an aspect 
of the family worship of the Imperial Household. 

Seven of the shrines given above are clearly Hachiman. 
If these are omitted from our total, we have remaining thirteen 
shrines for twelve different Emperors. The Empresses Shoken 
Kotaigo (Meiji Empress), Jingo Kogo and the consort of Jimmu 
Tenno receive worship at Government and National shrines. 

The surprising thing about Emperor worship in modern 
Shinto, however, is not to be found so much in the small 
number of rulers and shrines involved as it is in the character 
of the worship itself, as indicated by the nature of the Emperors 
who are accorded place in the public worship of the shrines. 
From this standpoint three groups may be distinguished cor- 
responding to three lines of emphasis in modern Emperor 
worship : — 

The first group centers in the worship of Hachiman, the 
god of war, and manifests a tendency toward an official exalta- 
tion of the military ideal in religion. This phase is not the 
creation of the present, however, but, on the other hand, repre- 
sents a fairly ancient movement in Shinto. Yet the modern 
government makes extensive use of this aspect of Shinto. Ojin 
Tenno, alone, has almost as many shrines in the Government 
and National classes as all the other Emperors put together. 
All the sovereigns that come within this first group — Chuai, 
Ojin and Jingo Kogo — are legendary. 

The second group centers in shrines wherein the religious 
life of the people is brought into contact with Emperors under 
whom conspicuous unification and progress have been consurn- 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 275 

mated in the national life. Here must be classified Meiji 
Tenno, Kwammu Tenno and the legendary Jimmu Tenno. 
This phase of Shinto is the creation of the modern Japanese 
government. Four out of five of the great shrines that appear 
in tliis connection have been founded since 1890. 

The third group centers in shrines wherein the dominant 
idea is the restoration to a position of royal dignity of the 
spirits of certain Emperors whose Imperial prerogatives have 
been compromised by the disloyalty of their subjects. The 
worship here includes also the ideas of consolation and propi- 
tiation for injuries received. This group embraces a greater 
number of Emperors than both the preceding groups taken 
together, namely, Junnin, Sutoku, Antoku, Go-Toba, Tsuchi- 
mikado, Jintoku, and Go-Daigo — seven out of twelve. Here, 
again, the movement is the creation of the modern Japanese 
government. Certain Buddhist beginnings have been taken 
advantage of, but, in every case, with the one exception of 
the Kotohira Shrine, the localization of the Imperial spirit in 
the official shrine has taken place since 1873. 

Imperial princes who'are deified at Government and Na- 
tional Shrines are eleven in number. 1 In all cases they are 

1. These princes and their shrines are : — 

1 hiko-no-mikolo, son of Kogen Tenn5. According to the tradition of the 
Nihongi this prince was one of the four " Generals of the Four Circuits." (Yodo 
Shoguri) sent out by Sujin Tenno in 88 B.C. with the duty of extending the Im- 
perial authority over unsubdued territories. O-hiko-no-mikoto is the conqueror of 
the Hokurikudb (" Northern Land Road ") district. 

(1) Isasumi Shrine, Kokuhei Chfisha (1873), Takala Machi, Fukushima Pre- 
fecture. [The date given immediately after the rank of the shrine, unless other- 
wise explained, indicates the time when the shrine was raised to the rank stated]. 

(2) Koshio Shrine, Kokuhei Shosha (1882), Terauchi Mura, Akita Prefecture. 

2. Takenuma-kaiva-ivake-no-mikoto, son of O-hiko-no-mikoto one of the Yodo 
Shogun and the traditional conqueror of the 7okaido (" Eastern Sea Road "} 
district. 

(1) Isasumi Shrine. See above under O-h'ko-no-mikolo. 

3. O-kibi-tsu-hiko-no-mikoto, son of Korei Tenno, aiso one of the Yodo 
Shogun. He is the traditional conqueror of the Sanyodo (" Mountain Sunlight 
Road ") district. 



276 TEE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

certain representatives of the royal line who have manifested 
unusual loyalty and who at the same time have undergone 
great hardships during military service in the interests of either 
the extension or the protection of the claims of the Imperial 
Throne. The majority of them are known to have met their 
deaths while engaged on military expeditions. The list 
includes five of the unfortunate sons of Go-Daigo Tenno who 
suffered in the first half of the fourteenth century under the 
" Hojo tyranny " and the " Ashikaga anarchy." A two-fold 
idea must be distinguished as underlying the enshrinement and 
elevation of these princes to their present high positions among 
the deities of official Shinto. On the one hand, there is an 
exaltation of the ideal of a devoted loyalty that expresses itself 
in military service on behalf of the Crown and, on the other 
hand, there is a rendering of consolation and propitiation to the 

(1) Kibitsu Shrine, Kampei Chusha (made a Kokuhei Chusha in 187 1 and 
raised to its existing rank in 1914), Magane Mura, Okayama Prefecture. 

4. Toyoki irihiko-no-mikoto, son of Sujin Tenno; the traditional conqueror 
of the non-Japanese tribes of the Tokoku (" Eastern Country "). 

(1) Futaara Shrine, Kokuhei Chusha (1883), Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture. 

5. Yamato-takeru-no-mikoto (d. in A.D.), son of Keiko Tenno. This 
prince is the legendary conqueror of the Kumaso of Kyushu and of the Yemishi 
of Eastern Japan. He was seized with severe illness while on the eastern expedi- 
tion and died at Nobono in the country of Ise. 

(1) Kehi Shrine, Kampei Taisha (made Kokuhei Chusha in 187 1 and raised 
to the existing raak in 1895), Tsuruga Machi, Fukui Prefecture. 

(2) Takebe Shrine, Kampei Taisha (raised from Kensha to Kampei Chusha 
in 1885 and to existing rank in 1899), Setamura, Shiga Prefecture. 

6. Prince Takanaga, the first son of Go-Daigo Tenno. This prince was 
banished to Tosa in 1332 but was back in Kyoto the next year. In 1335 he was 
made " Shogun to Subdue the East " and sent with Nitta Yoshisada to crush the 
Ashikaga revolt. Pie was defeated by Takauji and finally committed suicide at 
the siege of Kanegasaki. 

(I) Kanegasaki Shrine, Kampei Chusha (established with this rank in 1890), 
Tsuruga Machi, Fukui Prefecture. 

7. Prince Tsunenaga, the sixth son of Go-Daigo Tenno. He fought in the 
Imperial cause under Nitta Yoshisada against the Ashikagas. Although only 
fifteen years of age he took part in the defense of Kanegasaki and after the fall of 
this stronghold committed suicide by taking poison. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 277 

spirits of those who have sustained privation, injury and death 
in the discharge of such duties. This latter element shows the 
influence of Buddhist compassion. 

As an organized movement in Shinto this phase of hero 
worship is, again, the creation of the modern Japanese govern- 
ment. It is an aspect of the revival of Imperial institutions that 
has taken place since the Restoration. It is a selected deifica- 
tion out of numerous possibilities. At least four of the shrines 
where Imperial princes are worshipped are entirely new founda- 
tions, dating from the Meiji Era, while other shrines represent 
the selection and elevation of older and smaller institutions. 
The Kanegasaki shrine, for example, where are worshipped 
the Princes Takanaga and Tsunenaga was not established 
until 1890. These princes lost their lives in 1338. The latter, 
Tsunenaga, was not enshrined at Kanegasaki until 1892. 1 

The best indication of the direction in which the Japanese 

(1) ICanegasaki Shrine. See immediately above. Prince Tsunenaga was 
enshrined here in 1892. 

8. Prince Morinaga, the third son of Go-Daigo Tenno. In the years 1332- 
33 he took a prominent part in the protection of Imperial interests and the over, 
throw of the Hojos. He was later exiled to Kamakura and imprisoned there and 
finally murdered at the instigation of Ashikaga Tadayoshi. 

(1) Kamakura Shrine, Kampei Chusha (1873), Kamakura Machi, Kanagawa 
Prefecture. 

9. Prince Munenaga, eighth son of Go-Daigo Tenno. He rendered conspicu- 
ous service to the Imperial cause in the struggle against the Hojos and Ashikagas. 

(1) Iinoya Shrine, Kampei Chusha (founded after the opening of the Meiji 
Era and given existing rank in 1873), Iinoya Mura, Shizuoka Prefecture. 

10. Prince Kanenaga, one of the numerous sons of Go-Daigo Tenno. In 
1338 he was made " Shogun to subdue the West " and took a prominent part in 
putting down revolts in various places in Kyushu. In 1 359 he was seriously 
wounded in battle and later died somewhere in Kyushu. 

(1) Yatsushiro Shrine, Kampei Chusha (established with this rank in 1880), 
Yatsushiro Machi, Kumamoto Prefecture. 

11. Prince Yoshihisa [Kitashirakawa no Miya]. This prince took a pro- 
minent part in the subjugation of the aborigines of Formosa (Taiwan) and in 1895 
died of disease while on this expedition. 

(1) Taiwan Shrine, Kampei Taisha (established with this rank in 1 900), Taiwan- 
I. Cf. references given above, p. 269, note 2. 



2yS THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

government has endeavored to guide the public worship 
of Shinto ever since the Restoration in 1 868 is to be found 
in a study of the class of shrines known as Bekkaku Kampeisha, 
Government Shrines of Special Grade. This class of shrines 
was established in 187 1. 1 The official definition says, "Bek- 
kaku Kampeisha are shrines where subjects who have gained 
unusual merit are enrolled and worshipped as kami." 11 The 
content of this merit is generally explained as being that ' 
of conspicuous service to the state. The state, however, 
is here identified with the Imperial House almost com- 
pletely. 3 A reference to the actual achievements of the 
national heroes worshipped at these shrines will show that 
the underlying idea is that of an outstanding loyalty to the 
Emperor which expresses itself particularly in military service. 
The best illustration of this principle is to be found in the fact 
that the modern heroes who are enshrined at the greatest of 
the Bekkaku Kampeisha, namely the Yasukuni Shrine of Tokyo, 
are limited to those who have given their lives in the active 
military service of the state, beginning with the sixth year of 
Kaei (1853). At the remainder of the shrines of this grade 
certain protectors of Imperial prerogatives against rebellion and 
aggression, selected from among the hosts that have come and 
gone in Japanese history, are individually apotheosized. The 
list here includes the names of twenty-seven patriots, one of 
them a woman. 4 Eleven of the names represent loyalists of 
the fourteenth century who fought for the overthrow of the Kama- 

1. See above, p. 20. 

2. Cf. Jinjo Shogaku Shushin S/10, Kyoshi Yd, No. IV, p. 23. 

3. Cf. Sugimori, op. cit., p. 85. 

4. The names of these loyalists together with the names and locations of their 
shrines are as given below. The statement includes in the majority of cases a 
brief indication of the nature of the public service rendered. The date given after 
the location of each shrine shows when it was made a Bekkaku Kampeisha. 

(1) Fzijiwara Kamatari (d. 663 A.D.), loyal to the Imperial House. Tanzan 
Shrine (also called Tamu no Yama Shrine), Tamu no Mine Mura, Nara Prefec- 
ture. Dec. 22, 1874. 

(2) Wake Kiyomaro (d. 799 A.D.), loyal to the Imperial House, circunv 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 279 

kura Bakufu and for the protection of the Southern Dynasty in 
the Great Succession Wars — such faithful supporters as the 
Kitabatakes, Kikuchi Taketoki, Nitta Yoshisada and, the most 
renowned of all the Japanese patriots, Kusunoki Masashige. 

The fact that Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and 
Tokugawa Ieyasu are reckoned among the deities of the Bek- 
kaku Kampeisha may appear to be an exception to the general 
rule that deification presupposes such public service as includes, 

vented the priest, Dokyo, in his scheme to usurp the Imperial throne {cf. Mur- 
dock, op. cit., Vol. I, p. 2co). Goo Shrine, Kyoto Prefecture. Dec. 20, 1874. 

(3) Wake Hiromushi, elder sister of Wake no Kiyomaro, aided in the over- 
throw of Doky5. Goo Shrine, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture. 

(4) Fujiwara Morokata (d. 1332), loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo. Komikado 
Shrine, Komikado Mura, Chiba Prefecture. June 14, 1882. 

(5) Kikuchi Taketoki (d. 1333), loyal to the -Imperial House. Kikuchi 
Shrine, Waifu Mura, Kumamoto Prefecture. Jan. 10, 1878. 

(6) Kusunoki Masashige (d. 1336), loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo, committed 
suicide in the Imperial cause. Minatogawa Shrine, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture- 
July, 11, 187 1. 

(7) Nawa Nagatoshi (d 1336), loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo. Nawa Shrine, 
Nawa Mura, Tottori Prefecture. Jan. 10, 1878. 

(8) Kitabatake Chikafusa (d. 1354^, loyal to the Southern Court in the Great 
Succession Wars (1 337-1 392) and author of Jintoshotoki ("History of the True 
Succession of the Divine Monarchs "). Abe Shrine, Sumiyoshi Mura, Osaka 
Prefecture. Jan. 24, 1 8 82. 

(9) Kitabatake Akiie (d. 1 338, at the age of twenty-one), first son of Kita- 
batake Chikafusa, loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo. Abe Shrine, Sumiyoshi Mura, 
Osaka Prefecture. 

(10) Nitta Yoshisada (d. 1338^, loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo, took a pro- 
minent part in the overthrow of the Kamakura Shogunate. Fujishima Shrine, 
Nishi Fujishima Mura, Fukui Prefecture. Nov. 7, 1 876. 

(11) Yuki Munehiro (d. 1338), loyal to Imperial House. Yuki Shrine, Tsu ; 
Mie Prefecture. Jan. 24, 1882. 

(12) Oe Motonari (d. 1571), loyal to Imperial House. Toyosaka Shrine, 
Yamaguchi Prefecture. Dec. 15, 1882. 

(13) Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582). Takeisoshi Shrine (also called Kenkuu 
Shrine), Omiya Mura, Kyoto Prefecture. April 24, 1875. 

(14) Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598). Toyokuni Shrine, Kyoto, Kyoto 
Prefecture. Aug. 14, 1873. 

(15) Toktigawa Ieyasu (d. 1616). (1) Tcshogu, Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture. 
June 9, 1873. (2) T5shogu, Kunomura, Shizuoka Prefecture. 



280 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

in a fundamental way, conspicuous loyalty to the Imperial 
House. These three men, however, are properly honored as 
the principal agents in the unification of Japan after the confu- 
sion and anarchy of the Ashikaga regime. Regarding Oda's 
deference to the Imperial Court there is no doubt. In the 
modern text-books for use in the public schools he is upheld as 
one who restored the Imperial prestige to something of its 
ancient splendor. 1 Hideyoshi, in spite of the fact that his 
attitude toward the Throne was probably dominated by personal 

(16) Tokugawa Mitsukuni (d. 1700). Tokiwa Shrine, Mito, Ibaraki Pre- 
fecture. Dec. 15, 1882. 

(17) Tokugazva Nariaki (d. i860). Tokiwa Shrine, Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. 

(18) Shimadzu Nariaki ra (d. 1858), an imperialist and nationalist, one of the 
leaders of the sonojoi movement. Terukuni Shrine, Kagoshima, Kagoshima Pre- 
fecture. Dec. 15, 1882. 

(19) Kitabatake Akinobu, second son of Kitabatake Chikafusa, loyal to 
Emperor Go-Daigo. Ryozan Shrine, Ryozan Mura, Fukushima Prefecture. 
April 20, 1885. 

(20) Kitabatake Morichika, son of Kitabatake Akinobu. Ryozan Shrine. 
Ry5zan Mura, Fukushima Prefecture. 

(21) Sanjo Sanetsumu (d. 1859), loyal to Emperors Ninko and Komei» 
Nashi no Ki Shrine, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture. Oct. 10, 1885. 

(22) Sanjo Sanetomi (d. 1 891), fourth son of Sanjo Sane'sumu Nashi no 
Ki Shrine, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture. 

(23) Kusunoki Masatsura (d. 1348), son of Knsimoki Masashige, loyal to the 
Southern Court in the Great Succession Wars, died in the battle of Shijo Nawa'e. 
Shijo Nawate Shrine, Shijo Nawate, Osaka Prefecture. Dec 17, 1889. 

(24) Fujiwara Hidesato (d. 991), loyal to the Imperial House, defeated and 
killed the pretender to the throne, Taira Masakado. Karasawa Yama Shrine, 
Tanuma Machi, Tochigi Prefecture. Aug. 28, 1890. 

(25) Uesugi Kenshin (d. 1578, loyal to Emperors Go-Nara and Cgimachi. 
Uesugi Shrine, Yonezawa, Yamaga'a Prefecture. April 26, 1 902. 

(26) Maeda Toshiie (d. 1599), loyal to the Imperial House. Oyama Shrine, 
Kanagawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. April 26, 1902. 

(27) Mori Takachika (d. 1871), won merit by loyalty at the time of the 
Restoration. Noda Shrine, Yamaguchi Machi, Yamaguchi Prefecture. 

To the above list must be added the Yasukuni Shrine of Tokyo, established 
under the name of Shokonsha in 1869. It was given the rank of Bekkaku Kam- 
peisha in June, 1879, at which time the name was changed to Yasukuni Jinja. 

For references see above, p. 269, note 2. 

I. Cf. Jinjo Shogaku Nikon Rekishi t .No. II (Tokyo, 1911), pp. 16- 18. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO 28 1 

interest, is regarded by the Department of Education as a 
staunch supporter of the principle of reverence for the Im- 
perial House. 1 The modern government expounds the merits 
of Ieyasu as resting primarily on his loyalty to the Imperial 
Throne. 2 The only members of the Tokugawa family other 
than Ieyasu to receive public worship at the Bekkaku Kampei- 
sha are Mitsukuni and Nariaki, both, however, of the Mito 
branch. The school text-books exhibit the former as one of 
the primary factors in stimulating the growth of the modern 
spirit of loyalty to the Imperial Throne. His patronage of the 
study of Japanese history is regarded as having led to such a 
knowledge of the true nature of Japanese national life as to 
have constituted an important instrument in the final overthrow 
of the Tokugawa Shogunate. 3 Nariaki is to be remembered 
as the ultra-imperialistic leader of the party that stood for 
" reverence for the Emperor and the expulsion of (foreign) 
barbarians (sonojoi) " in the period just before the Restoration. 

This phase of the cult of the shrines is, again, the creation 
of the government during the past fifty years. It plainly reflects 
the interests of the modern revival of Imperial institutions and 
for this movement it furnishes the strongest of moral and 
spiritual supports. It also represents the magnifying of the 
military ideal in religion. While in an occasional case, as in 
that of Mitsukuni of Mito, there is a patronage of literature and 
art, yet, in general, the special merits which are recognized by 
the government and which constitute the grounds for public 
deification are military and political, particularly the former. 
The rich fields of Japanese literature, philosophy, art and 
religion are conspicuously unrepresented. 

In addition to the above deities of the Government Shrines 
of Special Grade there are only two other ordinary subjects of 
the empire who receive public worship at the great Government 

1. Cf. Jinjo Shogaku Shushin Sho, No. IV (Tokyo, I920), pp. 1 1 ff. 

2. Cf. Sugimori, op. cit., p. 96. 

3. Cf Koto Shogaku Nihon Rekishi, No. II (Tokyo, 1912), pp. 62-64. 



2%2 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINT5. 

and National Shrines. These two national heroes are Suga- 
wara Michizane (845-903 A.D.) and Takenouchi Sukune. 1 The 
former is worshipped as Temmangu, the god of learning and 
calligraphy, 2 the latter is a more or less legendary character of 
early Japanese history who is accredited with having served 
five Emperors. 3 The total number of national heroes, then, 
who are worshipped at the Government and National Shrines, 
in addition to those enshrined at the Yasukuni Jinja, is 
twenty-nine. 

At all other large Government and National Shrines the 
deities worshipped are either of obscure origin or else they are 
well known kami of the ancient Shintd pantheon. For the 
most part they are nature deities belonging to the latter group. 

The list of " ancestors " here includes the Sky-Father, 
Izanagl-no-mikoto ; the Earth-Mother, Izanami-no-mikoto ; the 
Sun-Goddess, Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami ; the Moon-God, Tsuki- 
yo mi-no-mi koto ; the wind deities, Shina-tsu-hiko-no-kami and 
Shina-tsu-hime-no-kami; the Great Food-Goddess, Toyo-uke-no- 
o-mi-kami {Toy o-uke -dime -no-kami) ; the " Food-Spirit-Deity," 
Uka-no-mitama-no-kami ; the Storm-God, Susa-no-wo-no-mi- 
koto ; 4 the goddess of Mount Fuji, Ko-no-hana-saku-ya-hime- 
no-mikoto ; the ocean deity, O-wata-tsu-mi-no-kami (" The Deity 
Great-Ocean-Possessor ") and other sea deities produced by 
Izanagi as he purified himself with water after his return from 
the Lower World, namely : " Deity Possessor-of-the-Ocean- 

1. The shrines of the former are : — 

(1) Kitano Shrine, Kampei Chusha, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture. This shrine 
was established in 947 A.D. with the object of propitiating Michizane's spirit. 

(2) Daizaifu Shrine, Kampei Chusha, Daizaifu Machi, Fukuoka Prefecture. 
The shrines to Takenouchi are : — 

(1) Kehi Shrine, Kampei Taisha, Tsuruga Machi, Fukui Prefecture. 

(2) Ube Shrine, Kokuhei Chusha, Kokufu Mura, Tottori Prefecture. 

2. Cf. Aston, Shintd, pp. 179- 183. 

3. Cf. A , I, p. 294, note 4. 

4. The nature deities included in the list thus far are all worshipped at 
the Great Shrines of Ise. Cf. Sugimori, op. cit. pp. 1-6. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHV OF MODERN SHINTO. 283 

Bottom " {Soko-tsu-wata-tsu-mi-no-kami) y " Deity Possessor-of- 
the-Ocean-Middle " {Naka-tsu-ivata-tsu-mi-no-kami) y " Deity 
Possessor-of-the-Ocean-Surface ' ' ( Uzva-tsu<vata-tsu- mi-no-kami) y 
" Bottom-Possessing-Male-Augustness " (Soko-tsutsu-no-wo-no- 
mikoto), " Middle-Possessing-Male-Augustness " {Naka-tsutsu- 
no-wo-no-mikoto) and " Surface-Possessing-Male-Augustness " 
( Uzva-tsutsu-no-wo-no-mikoto). 

In continuation must be added, the harvest god, Mitoshi- 
110-kami ; the mountain deity, O-yama-tsu-mi-no-kami (" Deity 
Great-Mountain-Possessor," born from Izanagi and Izanami) ; 
the thunder-god, Take-mika-dznchi-no-kami ; the lightning-god, 
Fatsu-nushi-no-kami ; the earth deity, Kana-yama-hiko-no-kami 
(" Metal-Mountain-Prince-Deity," produced from the vomit of 
Izanami) ;^the deity of growth, Waku-musubi-?io-kami (" Young- 
Wondrous-Prod ucing-Deity," who came from the urine of 
Izanami) and the deity of the distribution of water, Ame-no-mi- 
kumari-no-kami (" Deity-Heavenly- Water-Divider "). The last 
named god is the child of the deity of rivers and river mouths, 
Haya-aki-tsu-hiko-no-kami, and the sea-goddess, Haya-aki-tsu- 
hime-no-kami who are, in turn, offspring of Izanagi and Izanami} 

The appearance in the official cult of the worship of the 
deities who preside over rain deserves special mention. The 
god worshipped at the Upper Nifu Kawakami Shrine {Kampei 
Taisha), located at Kawakami Mura of Nara Prefecture, is 
Taka-okami-no-kami, the " Fierce-Rain-god " who appears in 
mythology when the gieat drought is broken with the death of 
Kagu-tsuchi} At the Lower Nifu Kawakami Shrine of Minami 
Yoshino Mura the enshrined deity is Knra-okami-no-kami> 
li Dark-Rain- god," who appears on the upper part of the sword 
of Izanagi when the latter slays his child. 3 The validity of 
the interpretation which regards Taka-okami-no-kami and Kura 

1. It is not possible to give here the various shrines where these deities are 
worshipped. The reader should consult the sources cited above, p. 269, Note 2. 

2. See above, p. 205. 

3. See above, p. 204. 



284 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

okami-no-kami as rain deities is supported by a study of their 
actual functions in the cult life of modern official Shinto. Prayer 
and sacrifice offered to these deities at the Upper and the 
Lower Nifu Shrines are regarded as efficacious either in stop- 
ping long continued rain or in bringing on rain after a drought. 
According to local custom, the presentation of a white horse is 
potent in breaking up a long spell of wet weather while the 
offering of a black horse will call forth black clouds and an 
abundance of rain. 1 

Among the deified ancestors of the national cult is a 
sword. The deity enshrined at the Atsuta Shrine {Kampei 
Taishd) of Atsuta Machi, Aichi Prefecture, is Kusa-nagi-no- 
tsurugi, " Grass-mowing-Sword," 2 one of the Three Sacred 
Treasures of the Imperial Regalia. It will be recalled that, 
according to tradition, the original of this sword was extracted 
from the tail of the great serpent of Idzumo. Japanese autho- 
rities explain this sword as the shintai of the deity and not the 
deity itself. 3 According to this interpretation the spirit {inita- 
md) of the sword is the real kami. Yet it is significant that 
the writers of the Dai Nikon Shimmei Jisho are apparently 
unacquainted with any name for this deity apart from the 
sword itself. 4 The official title of the god of the Atsuta Shrine 
is Knsa-nagi-no-mi-tsuriigi? " Grass-mo wing-Di vine-Sword," 
although the older title of Ama-no-mura-kumo-no-tsurugi y 
" Clustering-clouds-Sword-of-Heaven,".may still be met with. 

The deities worshipped at the Idzushi Shrine {Kokuhei 
Chushd) of Kamimura, Hyogo Prefecture are even more re- 
markable. Here the worship of certain ancient implements of 
primitive magic has survived into the official cult of the pre- 
sent. The kami of this shrine are the " Eight Great Deities of 



Cf. Sugimori, op. cit., Pt. I, p. 13 ; Pt. II, p. 31. 
Ibid., Pt. I, p. 19 ; Pt. II, p. 39. 
Ibid., Pt. II, p. 39 . 

Cf. Dai Nikon Shim?nei Jisho, p. 1 28. 

mmm- 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 285 

Idzushi " mentioned in the Kojiki, namely, two strings of beads, 
a wave-shaking scarf, a wave-cutting scarf, a wind-shaking 
scarf, a wind-cutting scarf, a mirror of the offing and a mirror 
of the shore. 1 The scarfs listed here undoubtedly have a 
magical association. Chamberlain in his translation of the 
Kojiki interpretes them to mean, " a scarf to raise the waves 
and a scarf to still the waves, a scarf to raise the wind and a 
scarf to still the wind." 2 The same author calls attention to 
other magic scarfs mentioned in] the Kojiki. 2, It is certainly of 
no small interest to find these objects among the " ancestors " 
of the great National Shrines of modern official Shinto. 

Among the deities worshipped at the Inari Shrine {liampei 
Taishd) of Fukakusa Mura of Kyoto Prefecture is the old 
phallic god, Saruta-hiko-no-mikoto. A 

The discussion thus far furnishes us with material on 
which to base certain conclusions regarding the nature of 
official Shinto. The deities worshipped at the Government 
and National Shrines include twelve Emperors, three Empresses 
(two highly legendary), eleven princes and twenty-nine repre- 
sentatives of the ordinary subjects of the state, in addition to 
those enshrined at the Yasukuni Jinja of Tokyo. All other 
deities to be met with in the shrines of the grades which we 
have had under examination are nature deities, including a 
small number of fetishis tic objects which have their probable 
origin in primitive magic, or else they are deities of unknown 
origin. The worship at these official shrines is far from being 
exclusively ancestor worship. The modern Japanese govern- 
ment interpretes nature deities as ancient ancestors, but this 
does not alter their original character as forces and phenomena 
of nature. The worship at the greatest of the government 

1. Cf. Sugimori, op. ciL, Pt. I, p. 74; Pt. II, p. 119. The official title of 
this group of deities is AftO?^. Ya-kusa-no-kamu-takara, « Eight -Kinds-of- 
Divine -Treasures." 

2. Cf. C, p. 25 1, note 17. 

3. Ibid. 

4. Cf. Sugimori, op. cit., Pt. I, p. 9; Pt. II, p. 29. 



286 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

shrines, just as in the cases of the smallest rural shrines, centers 
in kami-cult, wherein kami is to be understood in the sense of 
inana. Further confirmation of this statement will be found in 
the actual religious use made of these deities by the govern- 
ment itself. 

Forms of prayer to be offered before these various deities 
are carefully fixed by national law. Attention has already 
been called to the fact that shortly after the Restoration in 1 868 
measures were adopted by the Japanese government for pro- 
moting politico-religious centralization by providing uniform 
ceremonies for the Shinto shrines. New rituals {norito), based 
on those of the Engi-Shiki, were issued on April 13, 1875. 1 A 
revision of these earlier rituals was adopted by the government 
on March 27, 1914, under Order No. 4 of the Department of 
Home Affairs. 2 These new regulations, which furnish forms 
of public worship for Shinto shrines of all grades, went into 
effect on April I, 19 14. 3 It is necessary to examine the 
nature of the petitions that are contained in these norlto 
of 1914. 

The norito read before the kami by the guji, or chief 
priest, in the celebration of the Festival of Prayer for the Year's 
Crops {Kinen Sai) at Government Shrines and National Shrines 
contains petitions for abundant harvests and for the protection 
of the growing crops against devastation by wind, flood and 
rain. The passage which contains this prayer may be render- 
ed : " Grant that all things produced by cultivation, from the 
harvest of late-ripening rice to the smallest leaves of plants, 
may not suffer by evil wind or by violent waters. Prosper 
them fruitfully and luxuriantly (to the end that) the Harvest 
Festival may be performed with splendor and with beauty." 4 

At the same festival a civil official, sent from either the 

1. See above, p. 21. 

2. Cf. Genko Jinja Horei Ruisan, pp. 271-310. 

3. Ibid., p. 272. 

4. The original texts of the sections of this and the other norito which are 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINT5. 287 

Imperial Household Department or from the office of the local 
governor, presents a norito which includes the following prayer : 
" Grant to bless with ears eight hand-breadths long, yea with 
fine ears, the harvest of late-ripening rice which the sovereign 
deities will bestow. From the Great House 1 of the Sovereign 
to the people of the land, 2 grant that all may prosper more 
and more (with lineage) long and (with families) wide, like the 
luxuriant manifold branches of the mulberry tree." 3 

In the ritual employed in the celebration of the Harvest 
Festival (Niiname Sat) on the twenty-third of each November, 
prayer is offered to the deities of the official cult as follows : 
" Bless and prosper with peace and tranquility the mighty 
Reign of His Sovereign Augustness, with majestic Reign, with 
prosperous Reign, for a thousand myriad long continued 
autumns. Grant to care for and to bless (all), from the Imperial 
Princes and their offspring to the people of the land ; prosper 

here considered, accompanied by transliteration with roman letters, are added for 
purposes of reference. 

*«mbj¥¥*&*e* ULibRMm^mm, immtmti^, m^mmw^ 

Oki tsu mitoshi wo hajimete, kusa no kakiha ni itaru made, tsukuri to isukuru 
mono domo wo, ashiki kaze araki midzu ni awase tamawazu, yutaka ni mukusaka ni 
nashi sakiwae tamaite, n'rinae [niiname] no matsuri ikashiku uruzvashiku tsukae- 
matwashime tamae. — Genko Jinja Horei Ruisan, pp. 275-6. 

1. Omikado, lit. " great- august-gate ; " the reference, however, is to the Im- 
perial Household. Cf. I. Muromatsu, Shin Nonto Tsukai (^2^££> Wi$MW$, 
" A Commentary on the New Norito," Tokyo, 1921), p. 9. 

2. Written ^cT^fT^^^, but read ame no shita no omitakara (" the great 
august treasure under heaven "). The reference is to the people of the nation a s 
the great treasure of the Emperor. 

Sumekami tachi no yosashi matsuramu oki tsu mitoshi wo,yatsuka ho no ikashi 
ho ni nashi sakiwae tamaite, Sumera ga omikado tvo hajimete, ame no shita no 
omitakara ni itaru made, iyato ni iyahiro ni ikashi yaguwae no gotoku tachisakae- 
shime tamae.— Genko Jinja Horei Ruisan, p. 276. 



;288 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO, 

them like the luxuriant manifold branches of the mulberry tree, 
and make them to serve the kami." 1 

In the course of the same ceremony a civil official is 
instructed to pray : " Grant that the August Descendants (of 
Ama-terasu-o~mi-kami) may partake of the Great Food, in peace 
and tranquility, for a thousand myriad long-continued autumns. 
From the Great House of the Sovereign to the people of the 
land grant that (all) may prosper more and more (with lineage) 
long and (with families) wide like the luxuriant manifold 
branches of the mulberry tree." 2 

In the norito prepared for the use of the chief priests in 
the grand local festivals (reisai) of Government Shrines and 
National Shrines appears a prayer which may be translated : 
" Bless the Great Reign of His Sovereign Augustness with 
majesty and prosperity ; and may it be as firm and as everlasting 
as the rocks. Prosper it as a long continued Reign. Grant pro- 
tection and blessing (to all), long continued and peaceful, from the 
Imperial Princes and their offspring to the people of the land." 3 

i- %mfc7bX®K¥> KfiittTSrj&fiJttB* M^Tb&ttmm, ¥^ 

xgKXiMm^m&mt, a£«»2E£¥*s*ffi, %7bT7bm&mmtim 

Sumera mikoto no omiyo tvo ikashi miyo no tarashi miyo to yorozu chiaki no 
naga io aki ni tairakeku yasurakeku iwai matsuri sckiwae matsuri tamai, mikotachi 
okimitachi wo hdjimete ante no shita no omitakara ni itaru 7nade node tamai 
megumi tamaite, ikashi yaguwae no gotoku tachisakae tsukae matsurashime tamae." 
— Genko Jinja Horei Ruisan, p. 276. 

2. £UMfo7b±®m. n=?WVS%ttimW> 2 f L ftX£frXmM& 

2L+ttA£fe#75r*n^ :fc«3Sg*&fBo 

Sumemima no mikoto no omike wo yorozu chiaki no naga io aki ni tairakeku 
yasurakeku kikoshime sashime tamai, sumera ga omikado wo hajimete ame no shita 
no omitakara ni itaru made iyato ni iyahiro ni ikashi yaguwae no gotoku tachisa- 
kae shime tamae. — Genko Jinja Horei Ruisan, p. 277. 

3- ?£Mfo7bXWtft* W®KJb%.mV&. £$irft£K$$£* ^£ 

Sumera mikoto no omiyo wo ikashi miyo no tarashi miyo to kakhva ni tokhva 
ni iwai matsuri tanaga no miyo to sakiwae matsuri tamai, mikotachi okimitachi 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 289 

The ritual provided for the use of civil officials in present- 
ing offerings from the government at grand local festivals 
contains the following prayer : " From the Great House of 
the Sovereign to the people of the land, guard and prosper 
(all) continuously and widely. Bring it to pass that this Food 
Country, (extending far) under heaven, with its unnumbered 
countries and unnumbered islands, with none omitted, with not 
one left out, (as far as) the limit where the wall of heaven 
stands, (as far as) the boundaries of lands standing afar off — 
bring it to pass that (all) may look up to the great glory of the 
Great Emperor and that (all lands) may be covered with the 
august light of the Imperial Land." 1 

In the Saitansai Norito (Ritual for the. Festival of the 
First Day of the Year) occurs the prayer : " Protect this new 
year and prosper it as a good year, as a rich year. Bless the 
Great House of His Sovereign Augustness with the strength 
and the eternity of the rocks. Keep the land {ame no shit a) in 
peace, make the (five) cereals plentiful, cause industry to make 
progress more and more, and prosper the people with increasing 
abundance. Cause thy Great Glory 2 to shine more and more 
together with the light of the first rising sun of the year." 3 

vuo hajimete ame no shita no omitakara ni itaru made nagaku tairakeku mamori 
tamai megiimi tamae. — Ge/iko Jinja Horei Ruisan, p. 277. 

%mmmx. ^naa, htst&mu ^mmTb^mn^nm^mt. 

Sumera ga omikado zvo hajimete ame no shita no omitakara ni itaru made 
iyato ni iyahiro ni mamori tamai sakiwae tamoite, kono osukuni ame no shita wa 
kuni no yaso kuni shima no yaso shima moiuru koto naku otsuru koto naktt ame no 
kaki tatsu kiwami kuni no sokitntsu kagiri sznne cm 'kado no omiizu wo aogashime 
tamai, sume omikuni no omihifcaii wo kagorashime tamae. — Genko Jinja Horei 
Ruisin, p. 277. 

2. Addressed to the deity or deities of the local shrine. 

mmm^mm, sN&m&Jt* ^t^kx. mm*x* 'tm*wm*n 



29O THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

The ritual for use in the Gens his ai (Festival of Sacrifice to 
the Origin, Jan. 3) contains the prayer : " Guard and bless the 
prosperity of the Imperial Throne, ruled over by His Sovereign 
Augustness, with the eternity of heaven and earth, unshaken 
and unchanged. Keep the land {ame no shit a) in peace and 
the state {kunuchi) in tranquility. Make the Glory of the 
Great House of the Sovereign to shine with splendor in heaven 
and with splendor on earth and make heaven and earth to be 
filled with the Prosperity of the Imperial Land." 1 

In the nor it for use in the celebration of the Emperor's 
Birthday (Tenchosetsu) is the prayer : " Bless the life of His 
Sovereign Augustness with length of days and make it as firm 
and as everlasting as the multitudinous rock clusters. Prosper 
the Emperor with a majestic reign, cause the Imperial Glory to 
shine higher and wider evermore and make the Imperial 
benevolence to be revered forever and forever." 2 

The rituals for shrines of prefectural grade and below 

Kono toshi wo yoki toshi no umashi toshi to mamori tamai sakiwae tamaite, 
sumera mikoto no omikado wo kakiwa ni tokiwa ni iwai matsuri tamai, ame no 
shita tairakeku tanatsu mono yutakeku nariwai wo iya susume ni sustime omitakara 
wo iya sakae ni sakaeshime tajnaite, omiizu wo sashinoboru toshi no hatsuhi no 
hikari to tomo ni iya masumasu ni kagayakashime tamae. — Genko Jinja Horei 
Ruisan. p. 279. 

Sumera mikoto no shiroshhnesu amatsu hitsugino omi sakae ame tsuchino junta 
tokos/iie ni ugoku koto nakit kaivaru koto naku iwai matsuri sakiwai matsuri 
tamai, ame no shita- tairakeku kunuchi yasurakeku sume omikado no omiizu wo 
amakakashi kunikakashi ni kagayakashime tamai, sume omikuni no omisakae wo 
amatarashi kunitarashi ni tarawashime tamae.— Genko Jinja Horei Ruisan, p. 279. 

2- xMzfaTbKmm^-s ^^jb±mm^ mmmTb^x, %mmmm 

Sumera mikoto no omiinochi wo ianaga no omiinochi to yutsu iwa mum no 
gotoku tokiwa ni kakhva ni iwai matsuri, ikashi miyo ni sakiwae matsuri tamai y 
omiizu wo iya iaka ni iya hiro ni kagayakashime tamai, omimegumi wo iya to 
niiyanaga ni aogashime tamae.— Genko Jinja Horei Ruisan,^. 280. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 20,1 

repeat those prescribed for Government and National Shrines, 
with only such alterations as are necessitated by differences in 
the grades of the shrines and in the ranks of the officiating 
priests. The one exception to this; general statement is to be 
found in the norito used in the great local festivals of all shrines 
below the Kampeisha and Kokuheisha classes. This ritual, as 
fixed by national law, contains a domestic prayer that deserves 
special attention. Herein petition is addressed to the local 
tutelary deities as follows : 

" Again [lit. dividing the words], we say : Since they 
thus serve thee, grant to protect and bless widely and liberally 
both thy proteges and also the people of this district [the name 
of the village, town, ward, city or district of the prefecture is here 
inserted]. Keep them contented in heart and well in body, 
make their homes peaceful and their occupations prosperous. 
May they one and all live in increasing harmony and grant 
that children born to them may prosper more and more unto 
numberless generations [lit. yaso tsuzuki, " eighty succes- 
sions "]. This we say with deepest reverence." 1 

The forms of prayer to be offered before the deities of the 
shrines are thus precisely fixed by national law. In these 
rituals the government, itself, acting through its authorized 
representatives, makes appeal to various kami, regarded as 
*' ancestral spirits," for certain very definite benefits. The 
range of the appeals covers most of the vital interests of the 
modern state. It includes prayers for the protection of grow- 



Kotowakite mosaku, kaku tsukaetnaisttru ni yorite, miujiko no hitodomo mo 
mata kono bo dofu ken (gun, ski, ku, did, son^ no hitodomo wo. hiroku atsuku ma- 
mori tamai megumi tamaiie, kokoro odni ni mi sukoyaka ni ienuchi yasuku nariwai 
yutakeku ono mo vno mo iya nigibi ni nigihite, umi no ko no yaso tsuzuki ni itaru 
made iya sakae ni sakae shime tamae to, kaskikqmi kashikomi mosu.— Genko Jinja 
Horei Ruisan, pp. 283-4. 



292 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

ing crops, for abundant harvests, for the prosperity, health and 
contentment of the people, for domestic harmony, for national 
peace and progress, for flourishing offspring in the families of 
rulers and subjects, for the well-being and unbroken continuity 
of the Imperial House, for a long and prosperous reign on the 
part of the Emperor and for the extension of the prestige c* 
Japan throughout the world. 

The same idea of an officially inspired appeal to the deiaes 
of Shinto, regarded as active agents in a superhuman spirit- 
world, is to be found in certain other important documents of 
state which have been promulgated between 1868 and the 
present. 

The Imperial Rescript to the Daimyo, issued March 2 1 , 
1868, says, in one section, " As has already been notified, the 
existence of relations with foreign countries involves very im- 
portant questions. We are willing therefore for the sake of the 
people of the Empire to brave the perils of the deep and to 
undergo the greatest hardships ; to swear to spread the national 
glory abroad, and to satisfy the departed spirits of Our ances- 
tors, and of the late Emperor." 1 

The Imperial Decree of October 12, 1881, promising the 
establishment of a parliament, reads in one of its clauses, " Our 
ancestors in Heaven watch Our acts, and We recognize Our 
responsibility to them for the faithful discharge of Our high 
duties, in accordance with the principles, and the perpetual 
increase of the glory, they have bequeathed to Us." 2 

The promulgation of the Japanese Constitution on Feb. 1 1 , 
1889, was accompanied by an Imperial oath, the first declaration 
of which says, " We, the Successor to the prosperous Throne 
of Our Predecessors, do humbly and solemnly swear to the 
Imperial Founder of Our House and to Our other Imperial 
Ancestors that, in pursuance of a great policy co-extensive with 
the Heavens and with the Earth, We shall maintain and secure 

1. Jajban Herald, April 18, 1868, p. 1339. 

2. Japan Weekly Mail, 1 88 1, p. 1199. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 23 

from decline the ancient form of government." The oath 
concludes : " These Laws amount to only an exposition of 
grand precepts for the conduct of the government, bequeathed 
by the Imperial Founder of Our House and by Our other 
Imperial Ancestors. That we have been so fortunate in Our 
reign, in keeping with the tendency of the times, as to accom- 
plish this work, We owe to the glorious Spirits of the Imperial 
Founder of Our House and of Our other Imperial Ancestors. 

" We now reverently make Our prayer to Them and to 
Our Illustrious Father and implore the help of Their Sacred 
Spirits, and make to Them solemn oath never at this time nor 
in the future to fail to be an example to Our subjects in the 
observance of the Laws hereby established. 

" May the Heavenly Spirits witness this Our solemn 
Oath." (Official Translation.) 1 

After the battle of the Sea of Japan in the Russo-Japanese 
War, the Emperor telegraphed to the grand fleet under Admiral 
Togo : Nanjira no chiiretsu ni yotte soso no sJdnrei ni kotoru 
zi'o uni ii' o yorokobu, " We rejoice that by your loyalty* and 
valor We are able to answer to the divine Spirits of Our 
ancestors." 2 

The Imperial rescript issued on the occasion of the suc- 
cessful conclusion of the Russo-Japanese war says, in part, 
" The result is due in large measure to the benign Spirits of 
Our Ancestors, as well as to the devotion to duty of our civil 
and military officials and the self-denying patriotism of Our 
people Peace and glory having thus been secur- 
ed, We are happy to invoke the blessing of the benign Spirits 
of Our Ancestors and tc be able to bequeath the fruits of these 
great deeds to Our posterity." 3 

The Address of the Emperor to the Army and Navy at 

1. Ito, IL, Commentaries on the Constitution of the Emfn t of / . Tokyo, 
1889=. pp. 1 5 1-2. 

2. Japan Weekly Mail, Oct. 21, 1905, p. 433. 

3. Japan Meekly Mail, op. cit. 



294 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

the close of the same war contains the words, " By your loyalty, 
faithfulness, and valour I have achieved the purposes of the 
war, and have been enabled to discharge the duties devolving 
on Me toward the Divine Ancestors and toward My people." 1 

The Imperial rescript of Yoshihito, the reigning Emperor- 
issued at his coronation, November 10, 191 5, contains the in, 
vocation, " May the Heavenly Spirits of Our Ancestors, to 
whom We owe so much, witness our determination that We 
will fulfill Our mission by diligently labouring day and night." 2 

The language of these Imperial utterances is unmistakable. 
In these citations from documents which can be taken as repre- 
sentative of the life of the state at its very center, we find that the 
great ancestral kami are thought of, not as mere human beings 
whose exalted achievements on earth are being commemorated, 
but as actually existing, supernatural agencies whose aid is 
sought in prayer and ceremony and toward whom a profound 
responsibility is felt. 

This same supernaturalistic conception of the kami may 
be seen likewise in the manner in which all the great affairs 
of state, such as the consummation of treaties, the declaration 
of war, the celebration of victory, the signing of peace, import- 
ant activities of members of the Imperial Family, the accession to 
the throne of a new Emperor, etc., are all reported to the " spirits 
of the Imperial Ancestors " at Ise and elsewhere. Such cases 
are so numerous that present treatment must be limited merely 
to the setting forth of a certain amount of illustrative material 

Notices such as the following occur repeatedly in the 
Official Gazette (Kampo). " H.M. the Empress will proceed 
to Kyoto to worship at the Imperial mausolea at Momoyama 
Izumiyama and other places in and near Kyoto, leaving Tokyo 
station at 6:15 on Tuesday morning by a special train." 3 



1. ibid., p. 434. 

2. Ibid., Nov. 13, 1915, p. 237. 

3. Official Gazette, dated May 1 1, 1919; Japan Times and Mail (Weekly 
Ed.), May 17, 1919, p. 666. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINT5. 295 

Subsequent to the completion of the revision of the Im- 
perial House Law by a special committee of high officials the 
government stated : " The change was formally announced 
before the sanctuary of the Imperial ancestors in the Imperial 
palace yesterday with appropriate ceremonies. 

" Similar reports were made at the same time at the Grand 
Shrines of Ise, and before the mausolea of the First Emperor, 
Jimmu Tennd, and the late Emperor Meiji, for which purpose 
special messengers were dispatched by the Imperial Court." 1 

Imperial Household Ordinances relating to marriages in 
the Imperial Family contain the following articles bearing on 
the matter under discussion. 

" Art. III. When the matrimonial engagement is made, 
the fact shall be announced at the Imperial Ancestral Shrine 
{Koreiden) as well as at the shrines for the Kami (Shinden) 
placed in the Sanctuary in the Palace, and Imperial messengers 
carrying special offerings shall be dispatched to the Jingu 
Shrines [Ise], and the mausolea of the Emperor Jimmu and of 
the Emperor and Empress immediately predeceasing the reign- 
ing monarch." 

"Art. VI. On the day of the ceremony a solemn an- 
nouncement of the fact shall be made at the Shrine in the 
Sanctuary." 

" Art. VII. The ceremony shall be performed in the 
jront of the Santuary (Kashikodokoro) in accordance with the 
rites specially determined." 

" Art. IX. The Emperor, accompanied by the Empress, 
shall, at the close of the wedding ceremony, appear (for wor- 
ship) at the Koreiden and the Shinden." 

" Art. XII. The Emperor and the Empress shall, after 
the conclusion of the ceremony, proceed to the Jingu shrines 
and to the mausolea of the Emperor Jimmu and of the last 
Emperor and Empress for devotional purposes. 



"2 



1. Japan Times and Mail (Weekly Ed.), Dec. 7, I91S, p. 1461. 

2. (Official Gazette) ; Japan Weekly AMI, May 12, 1900, p. 464. 



296 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO" 

The marriage of the Prince Imperial, Yoshihito [present 
Emperor], to the Princess Sada was accompanied by religious 
observances that differed in no essential respect from the rites 
conducted at ordinary Shinto shrines. They included the cere- 
mony of opening the shrine, sacred music, presentation of food 
offerings, the recitation of norito and the presentation of 
gohei} 

The accession ceremonies of the reigning Emperor, which 
took place immediately after the death of the late Emperor, 
Mutsuhito, in 191 2, were largely religious in character. The 
report says, " At 1 a.m. yesterday, very shortly after the death 
of the Emperor, ceremonies were held at the Court in connec- 
tion with the accession to the throne of the Crown Prince. 

" The proceedings began with a service before the Imperial 
Sanctuary, the Kashikodokoro (Sanctuary) being fully decorated. 
The doors were opened at 1 a.m. and all due offerings made. 
All the court dignitaries and high officials of State were pre- 
sent. Prince Iwakura, Chief Ritualist, advanced and read an 
address expressing congratulation upon the accession to the 
throne of the new Emperor. The bell of the shrine was then 
rung by the Chief Ritualist, assisted by a subordinate. Prince 
Iwakura, on behalf of the new Emperor, and another Ritualist, 
Miyachi, representing the new Empress, worshipped at the 
Imperial Sanctuary, after which the offerings were removed 
and the door of the sanctuary closed, all present retiring. 

" The same ceremony was held also before the Koreiden, 
or Imperial Ancestor's Shrine, that the Imperial Ancestors 
might be informed of the succession." 2 

The formal coronation ceremony of the present Emperor 
was similarly announced to the ancestral spirits. The account 
of the service says : " The great Ritual service before the Kashi- 
kodokoro enshrined in the Shunko Den, began at eight o'clock 
this morning. At this important ceremonial, Emperor Yoshi- 

1. Cf. Japan Weekly Mail, May 12, 1900, p. 454; May 5, 1900, p. 428. 

2. Japan Advertiser, July 31, I912, p. I. . 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY O? MODERN SHINTO. 297 

hito formally acquired the Three Sacred Treasures and reported 
before his ancestral spirits in the Kashikodokoro, the fact of his 
succession to the great and time honoured heritage. His 
Majesty then fervently prayed for the prosperity of his reign." 1 

The dates of the coronation were earlier reported to the 
Imperial Ancestors, at a ceremony held in the court sactuary, 
as follows, " Sacred music heralded the beginning of the 
ceremony and the Court ritualists made offering of food at the 

sanctuary The Emperor, attended by Lord 

Chamberlain, Prince Takatsukasa, and a few others, proceeded 
to the sanctuary, before which His Majesty read a scroll 
announcing the dates of the Coronation and the thanksgiving 

Festival The Imperial messengers, ordered to 

the Great Shrine at Ise and the Imperial mausolea at several 
places to report the dates of the Coronation and the Thanks- 
giving Festival, were present in ceremonial, costumes." 2 

On August 28, 1 9 14, the Official Gazette published as 
Order Number 1 9 of the Department of Home Affairs a ritual 
to be used in announcing the declaration of war against Ger- 
many before the deities of the shrines. The order contains 
the following prayer : — 

" Especially care for and bless the soldiers who, in ac- 
cordance with the Great Command of the Emperor, are bravely 
and steadily pressing forward, and also care for and bless the 
people of the whole land who are uniting their hearts and 
exerting their strength for the world 3 and for their country. 



1. Japan Weekly Mail, Nov. 13, 1915, p. 234. 

2. Japan Evangelist, March, I914, p. 126. For accounts of similar 
religious ceremonies see Japan Times and Mail (Weeldy Ed.), May 10, 1919, pp. 
637 and 639; May 31, 1919, p. 727 ; Jan. 18, I919, p. 85 ; Japan Weeldy Mail, 
Oct. 13 and 21, 1905; Nov. 13, 1915. See also articles by K. Ibuka, " The 
Coronation of the Emperor of Japan," Record of Christian Work, Vol. XXXV 
(May, 1916), pp. 275-8 and by J. Ingram Bryan, " The Crown Prince Comes of 
Age," Japan Magazine, June, I919, pp. 51-53- 

3. This is the only instance of internationalism in the Shinto prayers tha 
has come under the observation of the writer. 



298 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

Utterly and quickly subdue the enemy attacking on land and 
on sea ; drive him away and scatter him. Restore to peace 
and calm the troubled waves of the eastern sea. Makes the 
glory of the Imperial House to spread abroad far and wide, 
more and more, in the lands of the four directions under heaven ; 
make it to shine with increasing brightness. Protect and bless 
us with a guard by day and a guard by night." 1 

Government supervision of the form of the rites conducted 
at me shrines on important official occasions is equally minute. 
Here again the abundance of data available for examination in 
the national laws necessitates that our treatment be limited 
to the presentation of a single example. The order of service 
translated below appears on the statute books as a part of 
Order Number Four of the Department of Home Affairs, 
dated March 27, 19 14. It is intended for use in the Festival 
of Prayer for the Year's Crops, the Harvest Festival and the 
Grand Local Festivals at all Government and National Shrines. 

" On the appointed day early in the morning the shrine 
sanctuary is decorated. 

" At the appointed time the chief priest and others take 
seats in their designated places. 

" The messenger who presents the offering (for the state) 
comes forward. Prior to this the hand-water ceremony is 
observed. 

" The messenger who presents the offering goes to the 
place of purification. 

" The purification ceremony is performed. First the offer- 
ing, then the messenger and then his attendants are purified. 

" The messenger who presents the offering takes his seat 
in a designated place. 

"The ceremonial chest (containing) the offering (of the 
state) is set in a convenient place. 

" The chief priest announces to the messenger that all 
preparations are completed. 

I. Kampo, No. 624, Aug. 28, 1914. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 



»99 



" The chief priest opens the doors and awaits near by. 
Music during this interval. 

" The negi and others present (ordinaiy) offerings. Music 
during this interval. 

" The chief priest recites norito. 

" The messenger and his attendants take the offering (of 
the state) from the ceremonial chest and place it temporarily 
on a table. The table has been previously set in a con- 
venient position. 

" The chief priest presents the offering (of the state). 

" The messenger recites norito. 

" The messenger presents tamagushi and worships. 1 The 
attendants hand him the tamagushi. 

" The attendants of the messenger worship. 

" The chief priest presents tamagushi and worships. The 
sJiuten hand him the tamagushi. 

" The sub-chief priest or negi and others worship. 

" The sub-chief priest or negi and others remove the offer- 
ing (of the state). 

" The negi and others remove the (ordinary) offerings. 

" The chief priest closes the doors and resumes his original 
place. Music during this interval. 

" The chief priest announces to the messenger that the 
ceremony is completed. 

" All retire." 2 

We may pass on to the summary and termination of the 
entire discussion. Our investigation leads to the conclusion 
that the official cult of the Shinto Shrines is the state religion 
of modern Japan. Shinto must be classified as genuine religion. 
Not only so, but it is also a religion to which the government, 
actuated by political motives, accords special protection and 



/ 



1. ^fff, hairei. The term simply inverts the elements of the expression 
for worship, reikai, of the ordinary religious vocabulary of modern Japan. Inouye 
defines hairei as " the worship of a divine being." Cf. s. v. 

2. Geiiko Jinja Horei Riiisau, p. 272. 



3D0 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

support. There has been no disestablishment of Shinto in 
the modern period. From the time of the Restoration in 
1 868 right down to the present, the general tendency of legisla- 
tion in religious matters has been in the direction of -cementing 
with increasing closeness the bonds which unite the Shinto 
shrines to the inner life of the state itself. It is true that 
certain Shinto sects, so-called, have been legally separated 
from the official cult and that the legal control of Shinto as a 
state religion has been set apart from that of other religions, 
but the net result of such manipulation has been to facilitate an 
unimpeded extension of official control over the shrines, and at 
the same time to furnish the government with a legal smoke 
screen behind which it can escape the shock of opposition. 

Shinto priests are officially defined as officers of the state 
with such matters as appointment, duties, privileges, mainte- 
nance and discipline adjusted by special legal enactments. 
The shrines are regarded as institutions of the state with 
affairs of management and finance fixed by national law, 
and support supplied either -wholly or in part out of the 
revenues of the central or local governments. Rituals for use 
at the shrines are carefully determined by special statute. 
Government officials, in their capacities as representatives of 
the state, participate in the ceremonies. The rituals for use in 
the great festivals of Government and National Shrines are 
built up around the fact of the presentation of offerings from 
the government. Public education makes prominent use of a 
program which attempts to build national morality on an appeaj 
to Shinto mythology and tradition, and good citizenship is 
identified with the acceptance of this mythology. The dogma 
of the sacredness of a divinely descended Emperor of unbroken 
lineage from the age of the gods is written into the national 
Constitution itself. The same proposition occupies a central 
place in the ethical instruction of the public schools and in the 
shrine rituals alike. . In other words, Shinto ancestralism center- 
ing in the worship of Imperial ancestors enters as a primary 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 3OI 

element into the foundation of the Japanese state. Also, the 
observance of the national holidays is closely connected with 
ceremonies conducted at Shinto Shrines. Teachers in govern- 
ment schools are instructed to conduct their pupils, on regularly 
specified occasions, to the shrines and there do obeisance 
before the deities. The visit is also made the opportunity for 
the impartation of moral instruction in the elements of Japanese 
patriotism. Thus the nation as a whole is called upon to 
support the ritual and dogma of Shinto. In. these various 
matters Shinto occupies a unique status as the cult of the state. 

As a religion, it has places of worship, priestly functionaries 
and elaborate ceremonies that make use of purification, offerings, 
oaths, charms, reports to the deities, prayers and worship. Under- 
lying the government rituals appears the assumption of the 
existence of a sacred spirit- world of deified " ancestors " who 
guard and guide the destinies of the nation. Even thus the 
difficulties would be considerably lessened if the deities to 
which the government directs prayer and sacrifice could be 
consistently identified as authentic ancestors. The authorities, 
however, have carried over into the official cult certain elements 
that have far more to do with primitive religion than they have 
with the vital interests of intelligent men in the modern world. 
The greatest of the " Imperial Ancestors " worshipped at the 
shrines are nothing other than mythological nature deities. 

In all this the Japanese government is palpably inconsis- 
tent. As the " Report of the Investigation of the Problem of 
Reverence" published in 1920 by the Shin sect of Buddhism 
states the case, the government is constantly standing in the 
presence of a self-contradiction. The authorities have placed 
themselves in the anomalous position of maintaining a state 
religion in actual practice and at the same time attempting to 
propagate a theoretical denial of the religious status of the 
official cult. Government officials, speaking in their capa- 
city as representatives of the state, have repeatedly insisted 
that the official policy relating to the Shinto shrines is altogether 



302 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

independent of the policy that concerns itself with religion, 
or — to quote from the statement of the Chief of the Bureau of 
Shrines made in 191 8 — that "from the standpoint of the 
organization of the state, the shrines are not regarded as insti- 
tutions of religion." At the same time the government 
publishes in the national laws themselves detailed rituals for 
use in government services conducted at these same shrines, 
wherein prayers are made to the deities of the shrines, re- 
garded as superhuman spiritual powers. It is to be observed 
that the norito do not attempt to furnish material merely for 
nourishing the commemorative attitude and stimulating senti- 
ments of gratitude and loyalty. On the other hand, the unseen 
powers of the shrines are appealed to by the government itself 
for aid in such all important matters as the safeguarding of the 
food supply, the tranquilization and perpetuation of the national 
life and the stabilization of the existing organization of the state 
around the institution of the Imperial Throne. A government 
which promulgates side by side statements which say, " What- 
ever opinion may be held as to what should be done regarding 
the religious attitude toward the shrines, the government will 
maintain a neutral position on the ground that religious belief 
should be free," and " Our ancestors in Heaven watch Our 
acts, and we recognize Our responsibility to them for the 
faithful discharge of Our high duties " ; and which, at the same 
time, instructs its priestly representatives in the exact words of 
prayer to be used in supplicating these same " ancestors in 
Heaven " — such a- government is, to say the least, inconsistent. 
The dualism that is here involved cannot be resolved by any 
of the known methods of human thinking which satisfy the 
simple requirement of being according to ordinary honest logic. 
The official distinction between the cult of the shrines and 
religion as such is yumei mujitsu — it possesses name but not 
reality. It is a legal fiction which is without support in objective 
scientific fact. 

It would be of no small interest to know the extent 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTd. 303 

to which individual officials of the government, actuated 
altogether by political motives, deliberately further the existing 
dualism, while at the same time they find it impossible to give 
sincere personal allegiance to the religious tenets which they 
thus propagate for purposes of political control. The problem 
as stated in this form involves the investigation of individual 
motives — a matter on which it is very difficult to secure evidence. 
Mr. Y. Okakura tells us that if we should question the modern 
Japanese of ordinary education as to whether or not he be- 
lieves in " God in the Christian sense, or Buddha as the creator, 
or in the Shinto deities or else in any other personal agency or 
agencies, as originating and presiding over the universe," we 
w r ould in ninty-nine cases out of .a hundred get a negative 
answer. 1 Mr. Fukuzawa has been taken as a type of the 
educated Japanese man when he says, " I lack a religious 
nature, and have never believed in any religion." 2 If such 
agnosticism could be established as characteristic of the ruling 
classes of Japan as a whole, then the entire modern Shinto 
movement would take on the form of a grotesque piece of 
make-believe. Undoubtedly for many individuals especially 
among the educated and governing classes it is little more nor 
less than this. Possibilities of variation in the intensity of 
individual conviction, however, and in the range of individual 
knowledge, even among government officials, are vast. Ignor- 
ance, intentional double-dealing, out and out agnosticism, or 
deep personal religious faith may all exist as possible individual 
factors. Yet, taking the cult as it actually stands, with its 
paraphernalia of shrines, priests, ceremonies fixed by law and 
necessary underlying beliefs, it must be said, on the basis of 
the evidence that has already been passed in review, that 
modern Shinto represents a naive religious faith in which 
officialdom itself shares. 

1. Cf. Y. Okakura, J he Japanese Spirit (Lonon, 1905), p. 93. 

2. Cf. Chamberlain, The Invention of a New Religion (London, 1912, 27 
pages), p 5. 



304 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

For many among the ruling classes the content of the 
term " shares " certainly seems to amount to little more than 
a " make-believe " participation which directs and exploits 
popular tendencies. Yet the important fact is that the govern- 
ment treats the cult of the shrines as pure religion and evidently 
builds on the possibility of finding in the life of the nation a 
field in which a state religion will grow. Indeed, there is 
good reason for believing that the government in its effort to 
secure a steadying influence wherewith to meet the stress and 
.strain attendant upon the abolition of feudalism and the adjust- 
ment to a new national unification, which has involved re- 
organization to the conditions — including the dangers — of a 
wider international association and competition, has simply 
fallen back on the inherent conservatism of the old folkways. 
Here, as survivals out of the remote past, still exist feelings of 
racial uniqueness and even of racial sacredness, along with 
tendencies to classify the extraordinary members of society in 
the mana category and to assign their genealogical connections 
to a divine ancestry. This constitutes a fruitful field for the 
support of the official religion. 

This means, of course, that the entire movement is domi- 
nated by a political motive. Government documents inform 
us in so many words that the Shinto shrines are being utilized 
in promoting the unification and administration of the country. 
Justification of the ambiguous religious policy of the authorities, 
if found anywhere, is to be found here on the ground of political 
necessity. The cult of the shrines concentrates attention on 
" home products " ; it stimulates contentment with the existing 
order of things and confidence of superiority such as will with- 
stand the seductions of foreign intercourse ; it serves as a means 
of social discipline ; it meets " dangerous thoughts " and thus 
does a kind of police duty for the state ; and, above all, it 
utilizes the religious and moral aspirations of the people in such 
a way as to secure support for important political institutions. 
From the standpoint of the authorities the interests of the 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO, 305 

people are confronted with the possibility of the simultaneous 
existence of two irreconcilable foci, one in the political field and 
one in.a religious field lying outside of the proper interests of good 
citizenship as conceived by the government officials. The 
authorities apparently fear the possibility of a weakening of 
nationalism through the existence of a strong religious interest 
in which the issues of nationalism are not sufficiently prominent. 
In the national cult the two foci of nationalism and religion are 
made to coincide in a supreme center of loyalty to the Imperial 
ancestors. Proof of this statement is to be found not simply in 
the ethical and religious teaching of the government but is also 
to be seen in the very gradation of the shrines themselves, 
which passes from the local shrines to tutelary deities of villages 
and districts through larger shrines of various grades "upward 
to the Grand Imperial Shrine of Ise which, as the place of 
worship of the " Great Ancestor of the Emperor " is so exalted 
as to transcend the ordinary shrine classification. The form of 
the religious organization reproduces that of the state. Ac- 
cordingly, the underlying political motive of modern Shinto 
must be said to consist in the furnishing of support to the 
Imperial Throne, which is the emotional and practical center of 
the state. The Restoration reinstated the Emperor as the 
center of the political life of the nation. The cult of the shrines 
continues this work on the religious and moral side by glorify- 
ing the sentiment of loyalty to the Imperial Throne and giving 
to this sentiment a religious significance. This involves the 
elevation to preeminence in Shint5 of Emperor worship and 
the unification of Shinto itself about this aspect of the cult. The 
government just now is especially concerned with this phase of 
the development of Shinto, as is witnessed by the construction 
of the great shrine to Meiji Tenno in Tokyo and the extension 
of Emperor worship to Ko/ea. 

The Japanese government is far from having solved all pro- 
blems either for itself or for its subjects by its method of handling 
the Shinto issue. A certain small number of intellectuals have 



306 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

attempted to sublimate the existing difficulties by the utilization 
of a pantheistic philosophy which permits a facile transition 
from nature deities to true ancestral spirits and which even 
makes room for the worship of living Emperors. The inter- 
pretation is esoteric, however, and is not in the original philoso- 
sophy of Shinto. Moreover, the prominence of chauvinistic 
elements in the solution makes it impossible. 

No more can confidence be placed in the solution offered 
by those representatives of the nationalistic-ethical school who 
take their stand on the fact of a legal distinction between the 
control of the Shinto shrines and of other religions and who 
assert that the idea of kami in Shinto is fundamentally different 
from the idea of deity found in ordinary religion. This form of 
interpretation presents a superficial modus vivendi for those 
who for various reasons find it necessary to repudiate the state 
cult as a religion but who at the same time wish to retain a 
social and political status as loyal supporters of the state. The 
great fallacy in the attempted solution here is that it completely 
overlooks the all important fact that the government itself is 
religiously interested even to the extent of making prayer for 
the divine aid of the deities of the shrines. 

The difficulties of the Shinto situation are most deeply felt 
by those who are conscious of obligations to that scientific- 
democratic spirit which is slowly growing in modern Japan. 
It is fair to say that the number is steadily increasing of those 
who demand that Shinto adjust itself to the accepted conclusions 
of modern science and to the requirements of that individual 
moral freedom which finds it impossible to accept that which 
cannot be logically related to other things which are known 
to be true. It is not necessary to consult private opinion for 
evidence on this matter ; the government itself complains of 
the situation. An official statement points to the " serious 
fact " that whereas the children in the elementary schools are 
sincere in their faith toward the deities of the shrines, students 
of higher schools manifest indifference toward the " verities " 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 307 

of the government cult. The statement goes on the say, " The 
worshipping of ancestral shrines is so closely associated with 
the national character of the Empire that the above tendency 
cannot, in the least, be ignored as anything but serious. It is 
the authorities' decision that some proper steps be taken for the 
correction of the above undesirable state of affairs, assisted by 
the Shinto priests." 1 Up to the present the government's 
method of correction has involved parochialism in moral educa- 
tion and inquisitorial methods in the control of thought. This 
has meant the systematic suppression of individualism and no 
small amount of petty persecution. Some of the best minds in 
the nation have been forced into a silence that is full of " curses 
not loud but deep," or else have been driven completely over 
into the group of reactionaries. Some find refuge in hypocrisy. 
The resultant moral situation is serious. In spite of the pro- 
testations of a superior Japanese patriotism that come from a 
certain group of ultra-nationalists, the fact yet remains that the 
press of the land constantly calls attention to the existence of 
an extraordinary degeneration in the morale of public officials 
of the government. Comparison is not infrequently made with 
the conditions of political corruption that existed in. England in 
the eighteenth century. If Shinto as a national cult, as a 
religion of loyalty and patriotism, is successful, then certainly 
one of its fruits ought to be fidelity in the discharge of public 
duties. It does not seem to have remotely occurred to the 
thinking of those who are responsible for the direction of the 
state religion that the possibility exists that the methods and 
materials which they utilize in fostering loyalty are slowly 
helping to undermine the foundations of the very thing that 
they are trying to establish. 

In all this varied indication of a new point of view in 
present day Japan there is an implied recognition of the fact 
that the whole structure of Shinto tradition cannot possibly 

I. Statement of the Chief of the Bureau of Shrines. See art. " Students Fail 
in Ancestor Worship," Japan Times and Mail ^ Weekly Ed.), May 28, 1921, p, 787. 



308 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

stand forever as a consistent whole. The question is, what 
shall make up the sacred world of Shinto ? " The divine 
origin of the Emperor, the unbroken line of his descent from 
the immortals, the guardianship that his deified ancestors ex- 
tend to the realm and its people — these are the essential bases 
of Japanese patriotism." 1 So writes a modern Japanese inter- 
preter of his native institutions. The point is a most delicate 
one, yet, in what sense shall these sacred things be preserved 
in modern Japan ? What shall be the basis of patriotism in a 
world that includes science, democracy, internationalism and 
modern industrialism? The answer must be given by the 
Japanese themselves. Certain it is that a movement toward 
readjustment and reinterpretation has already set in. The 
great organizing concept in Shinto history is the idea of 
sacredness. A kami object is, after all, a sacred object ; a 
kami person is a sacred person. The content of the sacred 
world may change ; indeed, as the naive Shinto world-view 
gives place to the scientific world-view, it must change ; but 
loyalty to sacred things must be eternal. This matter of dis- 
covering a basis for loyalty to which modern intelligent men 
can render sincere allegiance is one of the most urgent problerns 
awaiting the solution of the Japanese people. 

I. Cf. Brinkley, Captain F., (ed.), Japan, Described and Illustrated by the 
Japanese ("Written by eminent Japanese authorities and scholars."), Vol. II, 

p. 212. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 309 



APPENDIX A. 

Bibliography — Works of Reference in 
European Languages. 

Armstrong, R. C, " Shinto as a National Cult," The Christian 

Movement in the Japanese Empire (Tokyo, 191 8), pp. 

262-274. 
Asakawa, K., The Early Institutional Life of Japan, Tokyo, 

1903. 
Aston, Wm. Geo., Nihongi, 2 Vol., Supplement I of T.J.S.L., 

London, 1896. 
Aston, W. G., Shinto, the Way of the Gods, London, 1905. 
Aston, W. G., Shinto, the Ancient Religion of Japan, Chicago, 

• 1907. 
Aston, W. G., " The Japanese gohei and the Ainu inao," Jour. 

Anth. Inst. Gt. Brit, and Ire., Vol. XXXI (1901), pp. 

I3I-I35. 
Aston, W. G., " Sacrifice in Shinto," Man, Vol. XII, (191 2), 

pp. 5-9. 
Aston, W. G., " Ancestor Worship in Japan," Man, Vol. VL 

(1906), pp. 35 ff. 
Aston, W. G., " Are the Norito magical formulae?," V oung 

Pao, Series II, Vol. X, (1909) pp. 559-566. 
Aston, W. G., " Tori-Wi— Its Derivation," T.A.S.J., Vol. 

XXVII, Pt. IV. 
Aston, W. G., " Shinto," T.J.S.L., Vol. VII, (1906-7), Pt. Ill, 

pp. 340-340- 

Articles by Aston in H.E.R.E.— " Architecture (Shinto)," 
Vol. I, p. 773 ; " Art (Shinto)," 1, p. 886 ; " Shinto," Vol. 
2, pp. 462-471. 
Ayrton, W. E., and Perry, John, " The Magic Mirror of Japan," 
Proc. London Roy. Soc, Vol. XXVIII, pp. 127-148. 



310 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

Baty, Thomas, " Shintd," Hibbert Journal, April, 1921, pp. 
414-423. 

Bondegger, H., Buchido die Geheimwissenschaft Japans, Berlin, 
1905. 

Brauns, David, Japanische Mdrchen and Sagen, Leipzig, 1885. 

Brinkley, Captain F., (ed.), Japan, Described and Illustrated 
by the Japanese (-" Written by eminent Japanese authori- 
ties and scholars."), 5 Vols., Boston and Tokyo, 1904. 
Consult Vol. II for Shinto. 

Buckley, Edmund, " The Shinto Pantheon," New World, Dec, 
1896. 

Buckley, Edmund, Phallicism in Japan, Chicago, 1895. 

Buckley, Edmund, " Shintoism, the Ethnic Religion of Japan," 
Universal Religion ("A Course of Lessons, Historical and 
Scientific on the Various Faiths of the World," Chicago, 
1893), pp. 153-174. 

Bureau of Religions, Department of Education, Japanese Gov- 
ernment (Pub.), A General View of the Present Religious 
Situation in Japan, Tokyo, 1920. 

Chamberlain, Basil Hall, Kojiki, or Records of Ancient Matters 
(Trans, from the Japanese), T. A.S.J. , Vol. X, Supplement, 
1882. Reprint, 1906. Republished, 1920, by the Japan 
Times Pub. Co., Tokyo. 

Chamberlain, B. H., The Invention of a New Religion, London, 
1912. 

Chamberlain, B. H., Language, Mythology and Geographical 
Nomenclature of Japan Viewed in the Light of Ainu Studies, 
Tokyo, 1887. 

Chamberlain, B. H., " Notes on Some Minor Japanese Reli- 
gious Practices," Journal of the Anthropological Institute, 
Vol. XXII (1893). 

Clement, Ernest W., Constitutional Imperialism, New York, 
1916. 

Cobbold, G. A., Religion in Japan, London, 1905. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOS3PHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 3II 

Davis, F. Hadland, Myths and Legends of Japan, London, 

191 2 (4th ed. 19 19). 
De Benneville, James, More Japonico, Yokohama, 1908. 
Dening, Walter, " Mental Characteristics of the Japanese," 

T.A.S.J., Vol. XIX, Pt. I. 
Dickens, F. V., Primitive and Mediaeval Japanese Texts, 2 

Vols., Oxford, 1906. 
Dickens, F. V., " Seven Gods of Happiness," T.A.S.J., Vol. 

VIII, Pt. IV. 
Dooman, L, " The Beginning of Japanese History, Civilization 

and Arts," T.A.S.J., Vol. XXV (1897). 
Eastlake, F. Warrington, " Equine Deities," T.A.S.J., Vol. XI, 

Pt. II (1883), pp. 260-285. Reprinted 1914. 
Florenz, Karl, Japanische Mythologies Nihongi, Zeitalter der 

Cotter, Tokyo, 1 90 1 . 
Florenz, Karl, " Der Shintoismus," Die Orientalischen Religio- 

nen (Die Kultur der Gegenwart, Teil I, Abteiling III, I), 

Berlin and Leipzig, 1906. 
Florenz, Karl, Geschichte der Japanischen Litteratur, Leipzig, 

1906. 
Florenz, Karl, " Ancient Japanese Rituals," T.A.S.J., Vol. 

XXVII, Pt. 1(1899). 
Florenz, Karl, Die Historischen Qaellen der Shinto-Religion, 

Gottingen, 19 19. 
Goodwin, C. W., " Some Japanese Legends," T.A.S.J., Vol. 

Ill, Pt. II. 
Griffis, Wm., Elliot, The Mikado : Institution and Person^ 

Princeton, 191 5. 
Griffis, Wm. Elliot, The Religions of Japan, New York, 190 1 

(4th ed.). 
Gulick, Sidney L., The Evolution of the Japanese, Social and 

Psychic, New York, 1903. 
Haas, Hans, Religion der Japaner, Jena, 19 1 4. 
Haga, Y., "The Spirit of Japan," T.J.S.L., Vol. XV 

(1916-17). 



312 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

Hall, J. Carey, " A Japanese Philosopher on Shinto," Trans. 
Third International Congress for the History of Religions , 
Vol. I (Oxford, 1908), pp. 158 ff. 

Harada, T., The Faith of Japan, New^York, 1907. 

Articles by Harada in H.E.R.E.— " God (Japanese)," 
Vol. 6, pp. 294-5 > " Images and Idols (Japanese and 
Korean)," Vol. 7, pp. 146-8 ; " Names (Japanese)," Vol. 9, 
pp. 167-8 ; " Purification (Japanese)," Vol. 10, pp. 495-6. 

Hearn, Lafcadio, Kwaidan, Stories and Studies of Strange 
Things, Leipzig, 1907 ; Boston, 19 14. 

Hearn, Lafcadio, Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan, 2 Vol., Cam- 
bridge, Mass., 1894. 

Hearn, Lafcadio, In Ghostly Japan, Boston, 1903. 

Hearn, Lafcadio, Japan : An Attempt at Interpretation, New- 
York, 1905. 

Hildburgh, W. L., " Some Japanese charms connected with 
the preparation and consumption of food," Man, Vol. 
XIII, No. 67. 

Hildburgh, W. L., " Japanese Household Magic," T.J.S.L., 
1908. 

Hildburgh, W. L., " Charms and Amulets (Japanese)/' 
H.E.R.E., Vol. Ill, pp. 449-451. 

Hitchcock, R., " Shinto," Rep. Smith. Inst., 1 1891. 

Honaga, S., Ama-Terasu-Oho-Mi-Kami, Der Ursprung Hirer 
Verehrung als Goettliche Urahnin von Japan, Bristol, 19 16. 

Honaga, S., The National Spirit of Japan, Bristol, 191 6. 

Home, C. F., (ed.), Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XIII, Japan, 
New York and London, 191 7. 

Hozumi, N., Ancestor Worship and Japanese Law, Tokyo, 1901 
and 191 3. 

Imperial Precepts to the Soldiers and Sailors and the " Boshin 
Imperial Rescript, Eng. Trans, authorized by the Depart- 
ment of Education, Tokyo, 191 3. 

Ito, H, Commentaries on the Constitution of the Empire of Japan, 
(trans, by M. Ito), Tokyo, 1889. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 313 

Joly, H. L., Legend in Japanese Art, London, 1907 ; New- 
York, 1908. 

Kato, G., " The Ancient Shinto God, Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi-no- 
kami, Seen in the Light of Today," T.A.S.J., Vol. XXXVI, 
1908. 

Kato, G., Two Papers on Shintoism, Tokyo, 191 4. 

Kato, N., " Eastern Ideals and the Japanese Spirit," T.J.S.L., 
Vol. XIII (1914-15), PL I, pp. 1 16-148. 

Kikuchi, D., Japanese Education, London, 1 909. 

Kirby, R. J., "Ukemochi no Kami," T.A.S.J., Vol. XXXVIII, 
PL II(i9ii). 

Kirby, R. ]., " Ancestral Worship in Japan," T.A.S.J., Vol. 
XXXVIII, Pt. IV (19 11). 

Knobloch, A. von., " Die Begraebnissgebraeuche der Shin- 
toisten," Mittheilungen der Deutschen Gesellschaft fur 
Natur-und Volkerkunde Ostasiens, 6 tes Heft, Dec, 1874. 

Knox, Geo. W., The Development of Religion in Japan, New- 
York, 1907. 

Knox, Geo. W., The Spirit of the Orient, New York, 1906. 

Knox, Geo. W., " Arai Hakuseki," T.A.S.J., Vol. XXX, 
Pt. II. 

Kume, K., " Shinto," Fifty Years of New Japan, Vol. II, pp. 
22-41, London, 191 o. 

La Vieuville, G., Essai de Psychologie Japonaise, La Race des 
Dieux, Paris, 1908. 

Leo, J., Die Entwickelung des alt est en japanischen Seelenlebens, 
Leipzig, 1907. 

Longford, J. H., The Story of Old Japan, London, 19 10. 

Longford, J. H., " The Spirit of Japan," The Spirit of the 
Allied Nations (ed. by Sidney Low), London, 191 5. 

Lowell, Percival, " Esoteric Shinto," T.A.S.J., Vol. XXI, pp. 
106-135, 152-197, 241-270; Vol. XXII, Pt. I, pp. 1-26. 

Lowell, Percival, Occult Japan, Boston and New York, 

1895. 
Matsuura, Y., Bushidb by Foreign Writers, Tokyo, 1904. 



314 THE POLITICAL PH L "SOPHY OF MODERN SHINld. 

McLaren, W. W., " Japanese Government Documents," 
T.A.S.J., Vol. XLII, Pt. I (1914). 

Munro, Neil Gordon, " Some Origins and Survivals," T.A.S.J., 

Vol. XXXVIII, Pt. III. 
Munro, Neil Gordon, " Reflections on Some European Paleoliths 

and Japanese Survivals," T.A.S.J., Vol. XXXVII, Pt. I. 
Munro, N. G., Prehistoric Japan, Yokohama, 1908. 
Munro, N. G.,. " Primitive Culture in Japan," T.A.S.J., Vol. 

XXXIV, Pt. II. 
Murdoch, James, A History of Japan, 3 Vols. (Vol. 1, " From 

the Origins to the Arrival of the Portuguese in 1542," 

Yokohama, 1910. Vol. II, " During the Century of 

Early European Intercourse, 1 542-1651," Kobe, 1903. 

Vol. Ill not yet published). 
Nitobe, I., Bushido, the Soul of Japan, New York, 1905. 
Nitobe, I., The Japanese Nation, New York and London, 191 2. 
Nukariya, K., The Religion of the Samurai (Luzac's Oriental 

Religions Series), 191 3. 
Ohrt, E., " Totengebrauche in Japan. Das Staatsbegrabnis 

des Fiirsten Ito," Deutsche Gesellschaft fiir Natur-und 

Volkerkunde Ostasiens, Mittheilungen, Bd. 13, Tl. 2, 19 10. 
Okakura, K., Ideals of the East, London, 1903 ; New York, 

1904. 
Okakura, Y., The Japanese Spirit, New York, 1905. 
Dkuma S., " A Summary of the History of Japan," Fifty Years 

of New Japan (London, 1910), Vol. I, pp. 1-54. 
Ozaki, Y., The Voice of Japanese Democracy, Being an Essay on 

Constitutional Loyalty, Yokohama, 191 8. 
Pasteur, V. M., Gods and Heroes of Old Japan, London, 

1906. 
Pieters, Albertus, " Emperor Worship in Japan," International, 

Review of Missions, Vol. IX, No. 35 (July, 1920), pp. 

340-356. 
Revon, Michel, " Le Shintoisme," Revue de LHistoire des 

Religions, Vol. 49, pp. 1-33, 127-153, 306-325; Vol. 50, 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 31 5 

pp. 149-199, 319-359 ; Vol. 51, pp. 376-392 ; Vol. 52, pp. 
33-77; Vol. 54, pp. 163-217, 327-373; Vol. 55, pp. 51-110. 

Revon, M., Le Shintoisme, Paris, 1907. 

Revon, M., " Les Anciens Rituels du Shintd Considered Comme 
Formules Magiques," Transactions of the Third Liter na- 
tional Congress for the History of Religions, Vol. I, pp. 
165-181. 

Articles by Revon in H.E.R.E. — " Ancestor- wor- 
ship and Cult of the Dead (Japanese)," Vol. 1, pp. 
455-7 5 ''Cosmogony and Cosmology (Japanese)," Vol. 
4, pp. 162-7 ; " Divination (Japanese)," Vol. 4, pp. 801-6 ; 
" Heroes and Hero-Gods (Japanese)," Vol. 6, pp. 662-4 ; 
" Human Sacrifice (Japanese and Korean)," Vol. 6, pp. 
855-8 ; " Magic (Japanese)," Vol. 8, pp. 296-300 ; " Na- 
ture (Japanese)," Vol. 9, pp. 233-240; " Possession 
(Japanese)," Vol. 10, pp. 1 31-3 ; "Prayer (Japanese)," 
Vol. 10, pp. 1 89-191 ; Sacrifice (Japanese)," Vol. 11, pp. 
21-4; " Sin (Japanese)," Vol. n, pp. 566-567. 

Ritter, H., " Die religiose Entwicklung des jap. Volkes," 
Zeitschrift filr Missionskunde und Religionswissenchaft, vi 
(Berlin, 1891). 

Rivetta, Pietro Silvio, Shinto {la religione nazionale dei Giap- 
ponesi), Rome, 1908. 

Satow, Ernest M., "The Revival of Pure Shintau," T.A.S.J., 
Vol. Ill, Pt I, Appendix, 1874. 

Satow, E. M., " The Shintau Temples of Ise," T.A.S.J., Vol. 
II (1874), pp. 99-122. Reprint, 1907. 

Satow, E. M., "Ancient Japanese Rituals," T.A.S.J., Vol. 
VII, Pt. II (1879); Vol. VII, PL IV (1879); Vol. IX, 
Pt. II (1881). 

Satow, E. M., " The Mythology and Religious Worship of the 
Ancient Japanese," Westminister Review, 1898. 

Satow, E. M., " Ancient Sepulchral Mounds in Kandzuke," 
T.A.S.J., Vol. VIII, Pt. III. 

Schedel, Jas., Phalliis-Cidtus in Japan, Yokohama, 1896. 



3l6 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

Schiller, Emil, Shinto : Die Volksreligion Japans, Berlin, 191 1. 
Schwartz, W. L., " The Great Shrine of Idzumo, Some notes 

on Shinto, ancient and modern," T. A. S. J., Vol. XLI (191 3), 

Pt. IV. 
Shibata, R., " Shintoism," The Worlds Parliament of Religion 

(Chicago, 1893), pp. 451 rT. 
Smith, R. G., Ancient Tales and Folk-Lore of Japan, London, 

1908. 
Stead, Alfred (ed.), Japan by the Japanese, London, 1904. 
Stead, Alfred, "Japanese Patriotism," T.J.S.L., Vol. VII 

(1905-6), Pt. II, pp. 180-204. 
Tachibana, S., " Ethics and Morality (Japanese)," H.E.R.E., 

Vol. 5, pp. 489-501. 
Terry, Milton S., The Shinto Cult, Cincinnati and New York, 

1910. 
Tomii, M. " Le Shintoisme," Annates du Musee Guimet, Tome 

10, 1887. 
Visser, M. W. de, " The Fox and Badger in Japanese 

Folklore," T.A.S.J., Vol. XXXVI, Pt. Ill (1908). 
Visser, M. W. de, " The Dog and Cat in Japanese Folklore," 

T.A.S.J., Vol. XXXVII, Pt. I (1909). 
Visser, M. W. de, " The Snake in Japanese Superstition," 

Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitdt. Seminar fur orient alische 

Sprachen, 191 1. 
Weaver, R. M., " Emperor Worship," Asia, June, 1920, pp. 

472 ff. 
Yamashita, Y., " The Influence of Shinto and Buddhism in 

Japan," T.J.S.L., Vol. IV (1897-8), pp. 256-272. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 317 



APPENDIX B. 

Bibliography — Works of Reference in the 
Japanese Language. 

*0;&#fftft. (ft-feWd) 
#>»»¥£» (»J5tjt«) 

0*g?«5:A (±&mm 

WSRftSM (gilliiS-) 
JfcfcWS* (+*MBEfiB) 
^H*-*Wffl-lfc (ftOjiES) 
0*ip«£. (1551 %M) 

•wtffm (ffl* it) 

3*< H & P: K k IE H 5 mitt {±^s!K%) 
£Jt) 

H**ftxft (fuitesis) 

£mvm&&m («*!£-») 
#th©i?^ (#am#) 
*Mt*»iiB (#am#) 



318 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OP MODERN SHINTO. 

ffimnmm mm&m mm (&®m^m 

msusmmm m±) 
8tim&a.um m±) 

*MfcfriRffi»*| (g£ & «#A£) 

i*sni£H*tt» (nans mm®*) 

*ifc©IW« (|ItHip*8B) 
<M>»89*Ng (ffl+iijjg) 

#&©¥ (/Mffjflf) 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 319 

mm-xn m±.) 
mt±zmw (-e «) 

mmmmnmrnm (•§&&&) 
B*£gg& s*ks (H«si 7iti?i££« Jtfflts*) 

SrWH*«*B '(«Rffll&iB) 

*jgafe** (*essn 

2p(B«liM* (Rl-b) 



320 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY' OF MODERN SHINTO. 

■smw&mm (*«*«) 
x«w*gjs (Karma) 

*SlEft±«* (H+iHB) 
apffl*jft;2:e* (H*itffi) 

H*H*+« (^# 5E) 
^cg*©ai&. (/MFfifsf) 

jR£<l33Slt (*0l«S) 

niraf^scs (isi±) 

flKBO&fcWPfieaSil (M bI) 
SfftPMfl? (*MMFF3S*) 

wafiPi^wffiii (^fe^*) 

mimi^^ mm m) 
■&$lmm m±) 

B*l9fMfrR (i^*tt* *5EK*H) 
i»B:»:BJt6»« (*SFSbfcflB *#WJB »»#=») 
g*at3Sff£ (£#«**&) 

HitBtt r# (ttffiSM) 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. %2\ 



*H*iB:#«lCM* (|P]Ji) 
K*A<Z)#$tffiJ (ffl 7 1cSft&) 

B&ttfeosg 1 (llffAifO 



322 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 

HBHl:SSBSOJB.*Kffl (««»&) 

mwtwm raws*) 

mm nnisrs (*H#HiB#) 

■BUNS ds*«%irr) 
H # » OtlfllW) 

ft at pi (**'»a J&SN&*) 

;£0#SiiRfll GM *) 

mmmm {m^m^m 

B*firaftg (#.fc«#:«5 SKE3IA) 
*«*ffe HRffitt (5=SF«A) 
:>cH*|ScW£ (*«$) 

«IEB#75II1£ *H-&££1BfBtt¥2«A Utfc 
«§) 

ftiMK L -c m&SM^m- L*§« S ¥ ^SHAIEA^ 
'Sf*H (©Pif fit) 

Hm$MS©'«»i: lit &ft% (/HPKW) 

sail* (jzBkmm) 



5lfe? 



THE POLmCAI. PHH.OSOPH* OF MODERN SHINt6 . 



<S «£) 






323 



324 THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINT5. 

APPENDIX C* 





Grand 


Govern- 


National 


Year 


Shrine 


ment 






of Ise. 


Sbrines. 


Sbrines. 


1880 ... 


1 


55 


68 


1881 ... 


1 


55 


68 


188-2 ... 


1 


63 


69 


1883 ... 


1 


63 


70 


1884 ... 


1 


63 


70 


1885 ... 


1 


78 


73 


1886 ... 


1 


78 


73 


1887 ... 


1 


78 


73 


1888 ... 


1 


79 


76 


1889 ... 


1 


81 


76 


1890 ... 


1 


87 


75 


1891 ... 


1 


87 


75 


18^2 ... 


1 


87 


75 


1893 ... 


1 


85 


75 


1894 ... 


1 


88 


75 


I8y5 ... 


1 


90 


75 


1896 ... 


1 


93 


73 


1897 ... 


1 


93 


73 


1898 ... 


1 


93 


73 


1899 ... 


1 


93 


75 


1900 ... 


1 


93 


75 


1901 ... 


1 


93 


75 


1902 ... 


1 


95 


75 


1903 ... 


1 


95 


75 


1904 .. 


1 


95 


75 


1905 .. 


1 


95 


75 


1906 .. 


1 


95 


75 


1907 .. 


1 


95 


75 


1908 .. 


1 


95 


75 


1909 .. 


. 1 


95 


75 


1910 .. 


. 1 


95 


75 


1911 .. 


. 1 


95 


75 


1912 .. 


. 1 


97 


73 


1913t .. 


. 1 


— 


— 


1914 .. 


. 1 


98 


72 


1915 .. 


. 1 


98 


72 


1916 .. 


. 1 


102 


73 


1917 . 


. 1 


102 


75 


1918 . 


. 1 


102 


75 


1919 . 


. 1 


105 


75 


1920 . 


. 1 


105 


> 75 



460 

458 610 

455 611 



! — Statistics for Shinto Shrines. 

ITefeo 'SStaf District Village Ungraded tor Total, tor 

gSi.'SSKSr Shrine, Serines. Snrines. Headed Siuines. 

Snrines. bnnnes. 

369 493 3,272 52,754 130,293 183,047 186,812 

414 588 3365 53310 130,144 183,454 187 357 

429 562 3426 52,520 131,661 184,181 188,169 

445 579 3,445 53,451 132,393 185,847 189,871 

457 591 3461 53,231 133,135 186,366 190,418 

454 606 3^57 52,613 136,050 188,663 192,726 

612 3,456 52,680 135,220 187,900 191,968 

3453 52,778 135,518 188,296 192,3o9 

3,448 52,365 136,607 183,972 193,031 

456 614 3,460 52,426 136,783 189,209 193,283 

457 620 3,467 52,423 136,732 189,155 193 242 

458 621 3,470 52,410 136,652 189,062 193,153 
460 623 3470 52,411 136,972 189,383 193,47b 
$2 624 3,469 52 420 136i916 189,336 193,429 
467 631 3463 52,404 134,305 186,709 190,803 
47<2 638 3461 52,412 134,247 186,659 190,, 58 
fm 653 3465 52 423 135 459 187,882 192,000 
m 660 3,162 52419 13 5 ',42l 187,840 191,962 
496 663 3,464 52,413 135,366 187,779 191,90b 
496 665 3,467 52,414 185,332 187,746 191,878 
538 707 3319 54,045 138,287 192,332 19b,3o7 
543 712 3318 53,037 138,189 19122b 195,25b 
*$A 74^ 3 478 52135 139,698 191,833 196,056 
g? ]% H 6 52,133 13647 189,080 193,298 
Rftfi 737 3447 52,506 136,139 188,645 192,829 
S? 742 3476 52467 135 681 188,148 192,366 
111 749 3465 52 397 133 825 186,222 190,436 
5 580 751 M63 51052 121474 172,526 176,740 

751 3 461 49 508 108,722 158,230 162,442 

751 3463 47,988 95,239 143,227 147,441 

754 3 449 47 081 85 850 132,931 137,134 

S? 758 3446 46 455 79,599 126,054 130,253 

590 7b? 3,447 46 117 76,751 122,868 127,076 



580 
530 



770 



3 452 45,680 72,691 118,371 122,593 

777 3 455 45 514 71,063 116,577 120,809 

££ 801 3447 45332 69 338 114,670 118,918 

t?A s?2 34^1 45248 68,218 113,466 117,729 

H48 8^6 3,456 45 165 67 419 112,584 116,86 

Ar« 847 3 457 45 155 66,738 111,893 116,19/ 

685 866 3,462 11,112 66',069 111,181 115,50V 

* Based on yearly reports in Kokusei Ippan, published \*"*^*££ 
Home /flairs. The statistics here given do not mciude those for small 
ungraded shrines located within the precincts of larger shrines. 

t Statistics tor 1913 are not available. 



THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SHINTO. 325 

2 — Statistics for ShixNto Priests. 



Tear 


Grand 
Shrine 
of Ise. 


Govern- 
ment 
Shrines. 


National 
Shrines. 


Prefec- 

tural 

Shrines. 


Totals 
for Shrines 

above 
District 
Shrines. 


District 
Shrines. 


Village 
Shrines. 


Ungraded 
Shrines. 


Totals for 

district, 

tfillnge and 

Ungraded 

Shrines. 


Total for 

all 
Shrines. 


1880 


... 57 


287 


285 


716 


1,345 


4,093 


8,643 


177 


12,913 


14,258 


1881 


... 55 


336 


305 


769 


1,465 


4,212 


8,798 


180 


13,190 


14,655 


1882 


... 54 


375 


348 


791 


1,568 


4,332 


9,031 


27 


13,390 


14,958 


1883 


... 58 


394 


372 


781 


1,605 


4,285 


8,819 


34 


13,138 


14,743 


1884 


... 59 


399 


367 


779 


1,604 


4,088 


8,649 


275 


13,012 


14,616 


1885 


... 58 


500 


381 


767 


1,706 


4,103 


8,588 


273 


12,964 


14,670 


1886 


... 59 


503 


371 


766 


1,699 


4,084 


8,756 


310 


13,150 


14,849 


1887 


... 56 


— 


— 


758 


. 814 


4,133 


8,742 


503 


13,378 


14,192 


1888 


... 61 


231 


209 


748 


1,249 


4,039 


8,897 


363 


13,299 


14,548 


1889 


... 61 


252 


214 


746 


1,273 


4,006 


8,984 


402 


13,392 


14,665 


1890 


... 61 


264 


209 


739 


1,273 


4,032 


9,035 


377 


13,444 


14,717 


1891 


... 61 


277 


224 


732 


1,294 


4,006 


9,034 


366 


13,406 


14,700 


1892 


... 61 


296 


217 


732 


1,306 


4,062 


8,994 


371 


13,427 


14,733 


1893 


... 60 


290 


218 


742 


1,310 


3,759 


9,275 


406 


13,440 


14,750 


1894 


... 61 


294 


211 


737 


1,313 


3,830 


9,244 


449 


13,523 


14,836 


1895 


... 61 


298, 


213 


770 


1,342 


3,876 


9,114 


597 


13,587 


14,929 


1896 


... 68 


305 


205 


823 


1,401 


3,955 


9,103 


699 


13,757 


15,158 


1897 


.... 71 


317 


210 


869 


1,467 


3,897 


9,264 


838 


13,999 


15,466 


1898 


... 72 


306 


207 


868 


1,453 


3,991 


9,418 


890 


14,299 


15,752 


1899 


... 72 


308 


207 


863 


1,450 


3,787 


9,238 


971 


13,996 


15,446 


1900 


... 73 


314 


217 


873 


1,477 


3,802 


9,364 


1,765 


14,931 


16,408 


1901 


... 73 


318 


216 


898 


1,503 


3,703 


9,228 


1,931 


14,862 


16,365 


1902 


... 72 


334 


220 


893 


1,519 


3,661 


9,399 


1,514 


14,574 


16,093 


1903 


.~ 73 


342 


222 


901 


1,538 


3,726 


9,073 


1,131 


13,930 


15,468 


1904 


... 73 


345 


219 


915 


1,552 


3,631 


8,743 


1,091 


13,465 


15,017 


1905 


... 73 


346 


227 


906 


1,552 


3,647 


8,670 


1,143 


13,460 


15,012 


1 06 


... 73 


354 


225 


918 


1,570 


3,688 


8,710 


1,176 


13,574 


15,144 


1907 


.... 72 


354 


230 


923 


1,579 


3,608 


8,660 


1,161 


13,429 


15,008 


1908 


... 73 


360 


230 


912 


1,575 


3,588 


8,549 


1,124 


13,261 


14,836 


1909 


... 73 


356 


234 


910 


1,573 


3,604 


8,543 


1,101 


13,248 


14,821 


1910 


... 73 


377 


214 


908 


1,572 


3,575 


8,485 


895 


12,955 


14,527 


1911 


... 73 


371 


224 


902 


1,570 


3,532 


8,513 


883 


12,928 


14,498 


1912 


... 73 


369 


226 


887 


1,555 


3,470 


8,448 


879 


12,797 


14,352 


1913 


... 73 


383 


225 


894 


1,575 


3,394 


8,378 


876 


12,648 


14,223 


1914 


... 73 


408 


208 


890 


1,579 


3,365 


8,491 


907 


12.763 


14,342 


1915 


... 73 


403 


227 


907 


1,610 


3,422 


8,679 


908 


13,009 


14,619 


1916 


... 73 


414 


239 


955 


1,681 


3,408 


8,677 


926 


13,011 


14,692 


1917 


... 73 


426 


236 


951 


1,686 


3,405 


8,716 


925 


13,046 


14,732 


1918 


... 73 


427 


234 


958 


1,692 


3,433 


8,714 


920 


13,067 


14,759 


1919 


.„ 73 


432 


233 


969 


1,707 


3,417 


8,624 


950 


12,991 


14,698 



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